Presented to the
LfflRARY of the
ITMVERSITY OF TORONTO
by
The Birks Family Foundation
/
/
[
I
A
VOYAGE
ROUND THE WORLD,
PERFORMED
DURING THE YEARS 1790, 1791, AND 1792,
BY
ETIENNE MARCHAND,
PRECEDED
BY A HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION,
AND
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH
O F
C. p. CLARET F LEUR I EU,
OF THE NATIONAL INSTITC^TF, OF ART^ A N D SC I EN C Eîi,
AND OF THE BOARD OF LONGITUDE OF FRANCE.
VOL. 11.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR T. N. LONGMAN AND O. REES, PATER-
NOSTER-RO-iV ; AND T. CADELL, JUN. AND W. DAVIES,
IN THE STRAND. "
1801.
Balchvin and Son, Prinl-ers,
New Bridge-street, London.
CONTENTS
OP
THE SECOND VOLUME.
CHAPTER VIL
PAGE
Passage from the North-weft Coajl ^Ameri-
ca to the Sandwich Iflands. — Captain M.2ly-
ch^,nd provides himjelfwith refrejhments there y
without anchoring, — Inquiries concerning the
quejîiony To whom belongs the firft dijcovery
of thofe iflands ? — The perpendicular height of
Jome of the mountains of thefe iflands deter-
mined by approximation, — Run from the
Sandwich Iflands to Macao, through, the
Archipelago of the Mary-Anne Iflands, —
Occurrences at Macao. — The introduction of
furs into . China, by the Jouthern port s ^ had
juft been prohibited,— General confderations
refpeEling the prefent fate of the fUr~ trade ^
and what may be expelled from it in future,
CHAPTER Vm.
Departure from Macao. — Pajfage of the
China Sea. — Rectification of the Chart of
a 2 that
iv
CONTENTS.
that Sea — The Solide faffes through Gaf-
par's Strait hetween the IJlands of Banca and
Billiton. — New Fla'd of the two Straits
which prefent themjelves between thoje IJlands,
— Thofe Straits preferable to that of Banca.
^N(* ligation from Gafpar*/ Strait to the IJle
France. — Arrival at Port du Nord-Oueft
( Port North- weft ) in the I aft -mentioned iftand,
— liranJaEtions there
CHAPTER IX.
Departure from the Ifte of France. — The
Solide touches at the Ifte ^Bourbon, now
called the Ifte of Reunion, in order to load
there with coffee — Run from that iftand to
St. Helena. — Stay at this latter iftand.—
Directions for anchoring in its road, — Various
confiderations reJpeCling St. Helena. — Advan-
tages of its fituation, and of that of Gibraltar
to the nation which occupies thoJe 'two rocks. —
Navigation from St Helena to the Strait of
Gibraltar. — 'The Solide returns to Toulon.
— On the length of voyages round the World- ♦
and the means which might ftjorten it, —
Praifes due to the owners of the fhip^ 'to the
Captain y and to the officers, — Utility of the
new methods for determining at Jea the pofition
of the ftoip * 1
P. S. Success of the Expedition 2
VOCAB
CONTENTS. ▼
f AGI
Vocabulary <?f Wahitahô (or Mendana'^
Santa Chriftina) one of the IJlands of the
Archï-pelago cf the Marquefas de Mendoça. 253
Vocabulary of Tchinkitanay, on the x\ox\ki-
coafi of America, in the latitude of 57*^
north . . 258
ADDiriONS to the Narrative of the Voyage 268
Ift. For the iNTRODUcrioN ibid.
llnd. For the Iflands called Las Marquefas de
Mendoça '70,
îlîrd. For the Group of Iflands fituated n ihe
north-weft of the Marquefas de- Men-
doça 280
Extract from the Journal of Lieutenant
Hergeft 285
IVth. For the Ifland of Tinian 307
Results of the ohfervat ions for the latitude and
longitude made on hoard the floip Solide, in
the courfe of her Voyage round the World,
ferving to determine the changes occafioned by
the Currents in the apparent courfe and rate
of failing of the fhip, in the different tracts
of fea which fhe crojfed, as well as the error
in the calculation of the dead reckoning in
the interval of the obfervations, and at the
period of each land-fall 314
Ift, i2t7A% From the Strait ^^/^ Gibraltar to the
Cape àt Y tvà Iflands 321
a 3 Note
vi CONTENTS.
PAGE
Note!, i^th December I'j^o 321
II. 5/^ January 1791 322
III. ^th ditto . 328
IV. i/^th ditto 329
Ilnd. Run. From the Cape de Verd IJlands to
within fight of Staten Land 331
• Note V. i%th January ib.
VÎ. Gth February 334
VII. ']th^ Zthy and (^th ditto 335
Vni. 11th ditto 336
IX. iÇh ditto,.., 337
X. i6th ditto ib.
XL 2 ^th ditto 339'
XII. ^thy ^th and 10th of March . . 343
XIII. loth^ 11 thy iithy and i^th ditto 349
XrV. i2dy and ^yd March 1791 .... 352
XV. it^th ditto 354
XVI. 2'-ith ditto. . ib.
XVII. i%th ditto 355
XVIII. loth ditto 356
XIX. 1/ April 357
^ABLE of Comparifon of the progrefs in longi-
tude deduced from the obfervationSy With that
given by the dead reckoning in the Run from
the Cape de Verd Iflands to Staten
Land (facing 362
IlIrd Run, From Staten Land to the Mar-
quefas dc Mendoqa 364
Note
CONTENTS. vîi
PAGE
NûUXX, iith of April 364
XXI. i^tb ditto 365
XXIL 2^th and a^tb ditto 367
XXIIL ^th and ^th May 370
XXIV. iitb ditto 179 1 ; 371
XXV. 2yd ditto 372
XXVI. 24//^, içby 26tb and 2^tb ditto 373
XXVII. etb, ^tby and Ub of June 376
XXVII L \otb ditto 377
XXIX. iitb and iitb ditto 378
Table of tbe Errors of tbe, Dead Reckoning
in tbe Ilird Run 382
XXX. Geograpbical pojition of tbe Mar-
quefas de Mendoça, according to
tbe ohfervations made in Cook's
Second Voyage 383
IV th Run, From tbe Iflands called Las Mar*- .
quefas de Mendoça to tbe North-weft coafi
of America 385
JVb/^XXXI. 22nd June ib.
XXXII. 2^tb^ditto . . 386
XXXIII. 2 ^tb ditto ..' ib.
XXXIV. 2,^tb ditto 387
XXXV. 2yd July 391
XKXVI. 2^tb ditto 39^2
XXXVII. 2(>tb ditto 393
XXXVIII. ^^K^fi it).
XXXIX. ^ ^tb ditto 394
a 4 Table
Via CONTENTS.
PAGt
Table of the Errors of the Dead Reckoning in
thelVth Run 398
Vth Run. From the North- weft coafl of
America /(? the Sandwich Iflands 403
Note XL. i\fi Auguft ib.
XLI. 23ri ditto 404
X Lll. I fi September 405
XLIII. /s^th ditto 406
XLIV. Zth ditto 407
XLV. i^th ditto ib.
XLVL 21/ ditto 40S
XLVII. ^2^^ ^^^^^ • • • * 409
XLVIII. 30/^ September ib.
XLIX. 1/ October 410
L. yd ditto ib.
LI. ^th ditto 411
Table of the Errors of the Dead Reckoning
in the Vth Run (facing) 4 14
VIch Run. From the Sandwich Iflands to the
Mary-Anne Iflands and to Macao 416
Note LIL 7/^ OBober ib.
LIIL I ^th ditto 417
LIV, iQth ditto 418
LV. 2yd ditto ib.
LVL ind November 419
LVII. ^th ditto 420
LVIII. I Gth ditto 423
LIX. i8/i? ditto 424
Table
CONTENTS. IX
PAGT
TjBLE of the Errors of the Dead Reckoning in
the Vlth Run 428
Vllth Run, From Macao to the IJle France 430
Note hX. uth of December. For the geo-
graphical pofitions of Macao, Pu-
io-Condore, Pulo-Aor and Pulo-
Sapata ib.
LXI. ReMification of the chart of the
China Sea 451
LXIl. iifi^iinày and lyd ditto. Oh--
Jervations and Bearings taken in
Gafpar'j Strait \ and
An A LYSIS of the general chart of the two Straits
fituated between the Ifland of Banca and that
of Billiton, known by the name of Gafpar*j
Strait, and Clennents' Strait^ with failing
direEîions relative to the two fajfages .... 456
Of the various charts of thefe Straits^ fublijhed '
or known to this day 4^7
Of the Weji Pajfage or Gafpar'j Strait 461
Breakers to the northward (p/* Banca ib.
To fix the latitude of Gafpar Jfland 465
Of its longitude 472
Pofîtion of the Warren HaftingsV Shoal .... 474
Of other Shoals to the north-weft and to the north
of Gafpar Ifland . . > 48 1
Pofîtion of the Ëaft Point of Banca in regard to
other points , 494
Of
3C CONTENTS.
PAGE
Of its latitude , 49 j
To fix hy approximation the pofttion of the Moun-
tain ferving as a land-mark on Banca 497
Pofîtion of Middle IJland in regard to other
points 499
Pofîtion of the iflands in the Bay or Gulf fituated
to the northward of the Peninfula of Sel . . 503
Pofîtion of the North-eaft^f/;^/^/?/^ the Peninfula
in regard to other points 506
Bearing of the eàfi coafi of the Peninfula .... 509
Shoals and Breakers tc the north-eajl of the
i^onh.'t2i?i point of the Vtnmï}A2i 512
Of the tivo Groups of fmall iflands which form
the Paffages of Clements' Straits \ the poft-
tion of the one in regard to the other ^ and of
the iflands between them, — Of the known
Shoals in this part 514
Pofîtion of the lies de la ReconnoifTance (Shoal-
water IJland) and of the Shoals fituated to the
fouthward of the SlYdiits 538
Of the different Tracks of jhips marked on the
chart 545
Sailing DiREcrioNSy and Nautical Re-
marks for the Navigation of the Straits,
J. General Remarks on making the land y in
coming to the Straits from the north-
wardand on the Navigation in Gaf-
par'j Strait^ or the Weft Paflfage 551
I. General
CONTENTS. xi
PAOB
2. Breakers to the northward of the Northern
Coaft of Banca 5S^
3 . Breakers to the north by weft <?/*Gafpar IJland
and of the Warren Haftings'^ ShoaL . 557
4. Gafpar Ifland and the Rock to the weftward
of that Ifland 561
5. Tree Ifland, the Rocher-Navirc of the
French 562
6. Pajfage between Caspar Ifland and Tree
(Rocher-Navire) 565
7. The Mountain ferving as a land -mark on
.Banca, {called by the Malays Tanjong
Brekac) ... 567
8. Eaft Point of Banca . 569
9. Middle or PaiTage Ifland^ Jometimes called
Long Ifland (by the Malays Pulo-Leat) 570
10. Peninfula of Sel 572
11. South coaft of Banca 577
12. Irregularity of the foundings to the fouth-
ward of the Straits 5 80
13. 0/ Clements' SrRAiror the Eafl: Paflage,
in coming from the fouthwardy or in
coming from the northward 5S2
14. The Strait between Banca and Billiton to
be preferred to the Strait ^ Banca . . 588
N, B, The fufplement to this Analysis is
to be found at the end of this volume,
page()2T.
4 Vlllth
Xil CONTENTS.
PAei
Vlllth Run. From the Ifle (9f Reunion to the
Ijland of St. Helena 591
Note LXIir ib.
LXIV 593
LXV. ib.
LXVI 595
LXVII .......... 596
LXVIII 597
LXÎX 598
LXX 599
LXXI. .... . . 60J
LXXII ib.
LXXin. 601
LXXIV ib.
Tjble of the Errors of the Dead Reckoning
in the Vlllth Run 605
IX th and Last Run. From the Ijland of Sr.
Helena to the Strait of Gibraltar and to
Toulon 608
Note LXXV ib.
LXXVÎ. 612
LXXVII 614
LXXVIK 616
LXXIX 618
LXXX 620
Table of the Errors of the Dead Reckoning
in the laft Run 622
Table of the effeEl of the Currents on the Courfe
and
CONTENTS. XIU
PAGl
and Rate of failing of the Solide y according
to the ohfervations of Latitude and Longitude ^
made on hoard the Ship in the courfe of her
Voyage Round the World, in 1790, 179 1>
and 1792 , 624
Additions to the Refults of the Ohfervations
for the Latitude and Longitude,
For the Analyfts of the general Chart of the two
Straits fituated between the Ifland of Banca
and that of Billiton 627
For Clements* Strait 640
Remarks on the courfe to he held on coming cut
of the SrRjirS) when hound to the fouthwardy
after paffmg the parallel of the South-east
Point of Banca 644
Remarks on GafparV Strait 647
Note for the Straits to th^ Eafl cf 'ï^mc^i ... 655
Journal of the Route of the Ship Solide,
during her Voyage round the World , in 1790,
17 9 1 and 1792 , X
ERRATUM.
1 6, Note +, for Plate F» read Plate Vî.
A
VOYAGE
ROUND THE JFORLD,
DURING THE YEARS 179O, 179I, and I792.
CHAPTER Vir.
Passage from the North-weft G?^/ of America
to the Sandwich IJlands, — Captain Marchand
provides himfef with refrefoments there, without
anchoring. — Inquiries concerning the quejiion. To
whom belongs the firft difcovery of thefe ijlands ? —
The perpendicular height of fome of the mountains
of thefe ijlands determined by approximation, — Run
from the Sandwich Ijlands to Macao, through the
Archipelago of the Mary-Anne Iflands,— Occur
fences at Macao. — The introduction of furs into
China, by the fouthern ports, had juji been pro-
hibited,— General confiderations refpe5fing the pre-
fent ft ate of the fur-trade, and what may be expe^ed
from it in future,
rjpHE run from the coafi; of America to the
Sandwich IQands is equally deftitute of in-
tereft and variety: Captain Marchand and Cap-
tain Chanal made it their conftant bufincfs to
VOL. 11. B afcertain
2
marchand's voyage. [Sept. 1751.
afcertain by frequent obfervations of the moon's
diftance from the fun, and by the daily obferva-
tion of the meridian altitude of this latter luminary,
what was the gradual progrefs of the fhip in lon-
gitude and latitude -, and by this feries of obferva-
tions, they were confident of making a more direél
courfe, and of precifely hitting the iflands which
it was intended to make. In this run, as well as
in all thofe which had preceded it, they never
negleéled to determine the variation of the mag-
netic needle, as frequently as the weather would
allow, either by azimuths, or by eafterly or wefterly
amplitudes. The refults of their different obfer-
vations are to be found in the Ilotes that accom-
pany this narrative, and in the Journal of the
RourEy which prefents the data of the calcula-^
tion*.
I ihall content myfelf with mentioning two re-
marks, which might give rife to a prefumption
of the exiftence of fome iflands that have not yet
been perceived, or rather met with again.
In the night between the 14th and 15th, there
was taken v^ath the hand, a fmall land-hudy fpent
with fatigue, which had fettled on one of the
yards. The latitude of the fhip, at this period,
was 40° 15', and her longitude, correding it by
the obfervations made five days after, muft havp
* See, towards the end of this Volume, Notes XLV to LI,
and the Journal of the Route at the dates of the obfervations
©f which the Notes prefent the calculation and the refults.
been
.Sept. 1791.] MARCHAND'S VOYAGE. ' 3
been about 133° 45'* The neareft known lands,
thofe which lie to the northward of Cape Men-
docino, were diftant from the fhip about a hun-
dred and twenty leagues to the eaftward. This
diftance of a hundred and twenty leagues is very
confiderable for a fmall land-bird, unlefs it was of
the fpecies of thofe which, as is related of fwal-
lows, although belonging to the land, contrive to
rell themfelves on the water, when the length of
the pafTage exceeds the ftrength of their wings.
However, it would not be aftonifhing that, in lati-
tudes hitherto little frequented, there fhould exift
fome fmall iflands which, not being placed within
reach of the tracks that have been followed by
the known navigators of thefe. latter times, might
not have been perceived ; yet fuch iflands might
have afforded a retreat to thefe little birds which,
being granivorous, or living on terreftrial infedls,
could not fubfift on the water, and are obliged to
go and feek their food on the land. It might
happen too that the Spaniards, in their ancient
expeditions, had difcovered in thefe latitudes, fome
iflands with which they muft have been acquainted
before other nations j but it is probable that we
fhall have no knowledge of the exiflence of any,
and that we fliall not afcertain where they are
fituated, till chance fliall have led fome navigators,
of a nation more communicative than that which
made the firft difcoveries, to find them again.
B 2 The
4
marchand's voyage. [Sept. 1791»
The fequel of the Solide's voyage furniilies
us with a fécond remark of the fame kind.
On the 1 8th of September, in the afternoon, the
{hip had reached the latitude of 32° 30^ north, and
the longitude of about 139'' weft: this poiition
compared to that of the two neareft lands, placed
her three hundred and feventy leagues from the
Sandwich Iflands, and three hundred and thirty
from Drake's New Albion.
It was at this diftance from known lands, that a
fmall land- bird, of the fpecies of the canary, was
feen to alight on one of the fliip's yards. It could
not be fuppofed that fo fmall a bird could have
come even from the neareft known land, that is to
fay, that it could have made, all at one flight, â
pafîage of three hundred and thirty marine leagues :
it was therefore prefumed that, in the north-eaft
quarter, whence the wind blew, there exifts fome
ifland, ftill unknown to modern navigators, to which
this little bird belonged.
I have looked whether fome ancient navigator
might not indicate to us in this latitude, fome
foiitary iftand that had not yet been found again :
I fee on the Manilla galleon's chart, conftrudled
from the private memoirs of the Spaniards, which
Commodore Anson feized upon, in 1743, when
he took pofieflion of that ftiip, and which he has
fince publiftied in the account of his voyage round
the world ; I fay, I fee a fmall ifland under the
Dame of IsLA DE LOS Paxaros ( JJland of Birds
fituated
Sept. 1791.] marchand's voyage.
5
fituated in about 26® 30' north latitude^ and 11^ 30'
to the weftward of San Joseph in California,
or about 134° 30' weft from Paris*. This por-
tion is lefs to the northward by 6^, and 4° 30' lefs
to the weftward, than that of the ftiip which, con-
fequently, was one hundred and forty-three leagues
to the north-v/eft by north of this point. A fmall
bird could not have maintained its flight towards
the north-weft, in fo long a paftage, with the wind
at norch-eaft : which muft lead us to conclude
that,' if the IQand of Los Paxaros exifts, as we
may believe, and if the little bird came from it,
this iftand is not properly laid down on the chart
of the galleon.
The general chart of Captain Cook^s third
voyage, places it in the latitude of 26° 30', like
that of the galleon, and in the longitude of 137° 20' ^
I know not on what authority. This fituation would
bring it nearer to that of the Solide, which would
be at no greater diftance than one hundred and
twenty -three leagues and a half to the north 13
or 14° weft of itf . The paffage will, no doubt,
B 3 spP^^J^
* According to the obfervations of the Abbé Chappe^ in
1769, San Jofeph is ii2° 2' 30" weft from Paris (Voyage en
Californie^ Paris, Jomhert, 1772, 4to. page 85 to 88.)
+ In preferving to the latitude of the Ifland of Loi Paxaros
the latitude affigned to it by the galleon's chart, fome geogra-
phical calculations had led me to place it in longitude 1 39° 40',
on the charts which were conftruéled in 1785, and added to the
inftrudions given to La Peroufe to dired him in his voyage
round
6
MARCH AN d's VOYAGE.
[Sept. 1791
appear ftill too long for a Canary-hirâ, efpecially
when it is not wafted by a favourable wind which
fupports its flight, but, on the contrary, has to
ftruggle againft a ftrcng refiftance.
Ali that it is allowable to conclude from this
difcufllon, is, that it is very probable that the
Spaniards have formerly feen an ifland in a lati-
tude which is not very remote from the fituation
occupied by the Solide on the afternoon of the
1 8th of September ; and that this ifland muft have
been diftinguifhed by the multiplicity of its birds,
lince the navigator, who difcovered it, impofed on
it the name of Isla de los Paxaros : but, at
prefent, what is the true pofition of this ifland P
This is a problem which I leave to be fclved
by navigators who, in the fequel, may frequent
thefe feas: I could only point ^out to them the
poflibility of a difcovery. We muft, however,
here recall to mind the ftory of the golden tooth^x
might it not really happen that this little bird,
whofe unexpected appearance leads the geogra-
pher into diflertations, was nothing more than a
canary that had, perhaps, belonged to a fliip paf- |
round the world. If we give this pofition to the illand, the
Soltdey on the i8th of September, was diftant from it one hun-
dred and fifteen leagues to the north 5° weft.
* After feme of the greateft naturalifts and philofophers in
Europe had been long employed in endeavouring to account 5
for the exiftence of a golden tooth in a living fubjed, they at
length difcovered, with wonderful fagacity, that the tooth was a
falfe one. — Tranjlator's Note. j
fmg I
Sept. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. 7
fing by, from which it might have made its
efcape ?
On the 2ift of September, our voyagers began
to fee tropic-birds and quei^ranta-bue/fos or gmnt-
petrels*.
On the 3rd of 061:ober, at half pad two o'clock
in the afternoon, the longitude of the fliip, de-
duced from a mean between two fets of lunar
obfervations, -was i55°i7'3o'^ and the latitude
obferved at noon, and reduced to the period of
the obfervations for the longitude, was 19° 13^30''
north : according to this pofidon, the eaft point of
O-Whyhee, the largeft and the moft eaftern of
the Sandwich îflands, muft have borne weft by
north, at the diftance of thirty- fix leagues ; and
Captain Marchand might promife himfelf to
have fight of it the next day in the courfe of the
forenoon.
He navigated during the night with the precau-
tions required by the fearch of land, without grant-
ing to the refult of the aftronomical obfervations,
a degree of precifion above that which is admitted
by the method employed for determining the lon-
gitude, and allowing fomething for the uncertainty
which always remains refpedling the eftimate of
the portion of the way that a navigator is obliged
to introduce into the calculation, from the time of
his laft obfervation till he gets fight of the land.
* FfoceUar'ta glgantea, Latham,— -Tr<z/j/7<z/(7r«
B 4 The
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [OEt. I79I.
The next day, the 4th, at ten o'clock in the
morning, O-Whybee was difcovered as Captain
Marchand had expeded : it bore from weft by
north to north-weft by weft ; and he crowded fail
in that diredion.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, the ftiip was
cxa6lly under the meridian of the moft eaftern
point of the ifland, which, according to the obfer-
vations made on board the Resolution and the
Discovery, in Captain Cook's third voyage'*, is
fjtuated in 157° 10' 15" weft from Paris : the longi-
tude of the fhip deduced from the obfervations of
the preceding day, was 157° 1': thus, the error
on making the land was only 9 minutes, or fome-
•what lefs than three leagues 5 and it is to be ob-
ferved that thefe 9 minutes of error may belong
to the portion of the way that our navigators were
obliged to eftimate, from noon of the 3rd, to which
the lunar obfervation had been reduced, to the
time of taking the bearing of the eaft point of the
Ifland of O-WHYHEE-j-.
As for the longitude by account at the time of
making the land, fuch as it was deduced from the
dead reckoning from the Solide's point of de-
parture off Berkley Sound, it was found to be
f
* The original ajironomical Ohjernjatiom made in the courfe
of a Voyage to the Northern Pacifc Ocean 3 ^c. By W. Bayly.
London^ ^'j^i.J^io. page 350.
+ See Note LL
m
OB:. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE,
9
in error 1° 32' 45" or twenty-nine leagues ahead;
but this error would have been greater by thirty-*
fix minutes^ or eleven leagues and one third, if the
fum of the errors ajlern had not balanced part of
the fum of the errors made in a contrary direc-
tion*.
In the morning of the 5th, the Ifland of
O-Whyhee, being free from the clouds which,
the day before, covered a part of it, (hewed itfelf
plainly : Mowna-Roa and Mowna-Kaa, two
moft remarkable mountains, fituated in the interior
of the ifiand, the former and the higheft, towards
the fouth, the latter, towards the north-eaft quarter,
were diftin6lly feen : but no fnow was perceived on
any of the moft elevated points that prefented
themfelves to the view. This remark does not'
accord with what Captain King fays in Cook's
third voyage, that the fummits of thefe moun-
tains are conftantly buried in Jncw •\ : it appears that
*he was wrong to infer their habitual and conftant
ftate, from that in which he faw them in the month
of March, that is to fay, at the beginning of the
fpring; it is certain that the French who faw
them not till the beginning of the autumn, per-
ceived no fnow on any part of them. But, doubt-
lefs, in the latitude of 19° north, the fummerfuns
muft produce a change, in the interval from the
month of March to the month of Odober.
* See Note LI.
+ Vol. Ill, page 103.
When
lO
marqhand's voyage. ^OB., 1791.
When the mountains, difengaged from clouds,
were diftindly difcerned from the Solide, ihe was
at the diftance of five leagues from the fouth-eaft
coaft. In this fituation, Mowna-Roa fliews
itfelf in a manner particularly remarkable, becaufe
its fummit, which extends on an eaft and weft line,
forms a lengthened platform, in the fhape of a long
dining-table ; and from this flat fummit, its sides
ftretch by a gentle declivity till they meet the fea-
fhore.
At eleven o*clock, the fhip doubled the fouth
fide of O-Whyhee.
Towards noon. Captain Marchand (hortened
fail, in order to wait for a canoe that was fteering
for the ftiip : in it were three iflanders ; but they
had only fome fifli, which was, much to their fatis-
fa6lion, paid for with a nail.
The Sandwich Iflands are too well known by
the voyages of Cook, Portlock, Dixon, Meares,
Douglas, and other Englifli navigators who have
frequented them ; and La Pe'rouse*s journal will
add too many details to thofe which we already
poffefs, for me to think it neceflary to dwell on
what concerns their foil and inhabitants : the Ifland
of O-Whyhee, in particular, has acquired a de-
plorable celebrity -, it bears a fpot of blood which
ages will not efface*,
* It is well known tliat Captain Cook was maflacred in this
ifland.
Thçfe
O^. 1791-] marchand's voyage.
Thefe iflands may be confidered as a large cara-
vanjary^ placed on the route of the fhips which
crofs the Great Ocean between the parts of
Asia and America fituated to th^ northward of
the line. Several of the navigators who have
made them of late years, have, through the me-
dium of canoes, without landing, and while under
fail, procured the refrefhments, and even the water
and wood, with which they wifhed to be fupplied.
The danger incurred, a few years ago, by an Eng-
lifh captain, who, through a concerted piece of
treachery, had like to have loll there both his
crew and his velTel, ought to render circumfpedb
thofe that may be induced to prefent themfelves
with ftrength which would not be fufEcient for
awing the natives or repelling an attack. We can
only recommend the Europeans who frequent the
Great Ocean, not to anchor at thefe iflands, but
to receive from the canoes, thofe provifions which
the iflanders will always be eager to bring to them
on board. The health of the crews has every
thing to lofe, if they go on fhore ; and the natives
have nothing to gain, for the prefervation of their
race, by ,a too immediate communication with the
feamen of civilized nations.
Captain Marchand formed the prudent refolu-
tion of making all his purchafes under fail, and
confined himfelf to trading with the Ifland of
O-Whyhee alone, which was fufficient for all his
wants. Thence he procured hogs, a fmall quan-
tity
12
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [061. 1791.
tity of poultry (fowls were fcarce and dear}, co-
coa-nuts, plantains, fweet potatoes, yams, fugar-
canes, and the other fruits and produclions natural
to thefe iflands. It muft have been an agreeable
furprife, to fee that, with the indigenous produc-
tions, were mixed pumpkins and water-melons,
fruits of a fpecies which, not belonging to the
foil of the Sandwich Iflands, muft have come
from the feeds fown by the Englifh or by La Pe'-
RousE. More prudent, or lefs improvident than
the inhabitants of the iflands fituated fouth of the
line, thofe of the iflands north of it have been
fenfible of what utility it would be to them to
multiply this new mean of fubfiftence : and the
Europeans, in making to the Sandwich Iflands
this ufeful prefent have, by an a6l of beneficence,
ferved their own intereft for the future.
It was remarked that the canoes which came
from O-Whyhee to traffic with the fliip, never
failed to bring women intermingled with the hogs,
and offered them, conjointly with the filthy animal,
among the refrefhments which the natives pro-
pofed to the itrangersi' however, the Solide's
crew were prudent enough to content themfelvcs
with the eatables.
Surgeon Rob let obferves that the hogs ap-
peared to him to be of two fpecies : the mofl
numerous and the fmalleft is that defcribed by
Captain Cook, and by Captain King, who con-
tinued his narrative -, the only one, no doubt, with
3 which
0£i. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
which they were acquainted : the other, lefs com-
mon, is of a largelizcj and the French lobferver
is inclined to think that this is the former fpecies,
improved by a mixture with fome European hogs.
Without wifliing precifeiy to combat this opinion,
I ihdl only fay that it feems to me by no means
probable that the Europeans have ever thought of
depofiting hogs on iflands where they have found
them fo numerous, and where they did not arrive
till after long voyages which, doubtlefs, had not
allowed them to make any favings out of their
•provifions. The fame obferver endeavours to de-
Uroy an opinion which the Englifh voyagers appear
to have eftablilhed, that the hogs of the Sandwich
Iflands cannot live on fhipboard, and that, in order
not to lofe them, it is neceffary to make haile
to kill and fait them* : on this fubje6b, he relates
that, out of fifty of thefe animals which were kept
alive on board of the Solide, not one refufed
to take nourifhment : and thofe which were not
killed till after having been fevcral days at fea, had
* Captain King has moft minutely deifcribed the particular
method which Captain Cook firft put in pradice to fucceed in
falting pork in the countries fituated between the tropics, where
putréfaction makes its appearance fo quickly, that vain would
be the attempt to fait down provifions in employing only the
ordinary procefs. Captain Fortlock and Captain Meares have
iikewife explained the methods which they themfelves have
praélifed with fuccefs ; thefe differ little from that of Captain
C(?<7i.— (See Cook's Third Voyage^ Vol. III. pages 11 and 12 — -
Portlock's Vojç-gey pages 88 to ^q— Meares' s Voyages^ page 277,)
by
14 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [0£l. l/gi.
by no means wafted away, and appeared to be in
full as good condition as when they had been taken
on board.
- Iron is almoft the only article which the natives
chofe to accept in exchange for their provifions»
They fet a great value on large fpikes ; but it is
difficult to paint the tranfports of their joy, when,
in the room of three or four nails, a large joiner*s
plane was given them as the price of one of their
largeft hogs: they muft already know for how
many ufes this tool can be employed.
The paffion of thefe people for iron is of no
recent date ; for it appears that on the firft vifix
which they received from the Europeans in 1778,
they were already acquainted with the utility of
this metal; and they expreffed the greateft eager-
nefs to acquire it. It might thence be conjedlured
that the hazards of navigation, the fhipwreck of
fome veffel coming from America and run afliore
on their iflands, gave them in more ancient times
a knowledge of iron ; and that, having experi-
enced, by ufe, the fuperiority of this metal to hard
ftones, the fragments of fliells^ bones of animals,
&c. for making tools and weapons, it is, of all
European merchandife, become that which muft
have moft excited their wifties. Surgeon Roblet
remarked, however, that, among a rather confi-
derable number of iflanders who came to traffic on
board of the Solide, and with whom our voyagers
kept up a communication in their canoes, they
Oft. tjgi.'] marchand's voyage. 15
law not in the hands of any one of them, a fingle
weapon, or implement made of iron. It would
be a matter of curiofity to know for what ufe and
how they employ thofe large fpikes, thofe pieces
of bar or Ihcet iron which they feek after with
fuch avidity. It is not probable that they have
already found out the manner of fafhioning thefe ;
and although the firft Englifh fliips that vifited
them may poflibly have given them fomc idea of
the labours of the forge, this fimple notion falls
far fhort of the employment of the means ; a man
is not a fmith from having feen fmith's work ex-
ecuted. If, in the fequel, European navigators
fliould continue to perceive no weapon, no im-
plement of iron in the poffeflion of the natives
who come on fhipboard, would it be too bold
a conje6ture to fuppofe that the chiefs or Earees
of each iQand, who appear to exercife the greateft
authority, make it their bufinefs, either through
policy, or through an effe6t of their cupidity, to
get all the iron from the hands of the iflanders,
and form of it, as it were, hoards 5 as we fee the
Princes of Asia bury the precious metals which
commerce with Europeans annually introduces into
their country ?
Before we quit the Sandwich Iflands, I fliall
take the liberty of making a digrefllon refpeding
the period of their difcovery by the Europeans.
Thofe v/ho have read no other account than that of
Cook's third voyage mufl believe tjiat this difco-
7 very
tS
marchand's \>oyage, [OEt, 1791*
very inconteftably belongs to that celebrated na-
vigator j but it can be proved that it belongs more
anciently to the Spaniards, as well as feveral other
difcoveries in the Great Ocean, which ignorance
or policy had fufFered to be loft, and which the
intereft and aftivity of the navigators of our days
have led them to bring to light again.
I fnall not adduce as one of the titles of the
Spaniards to the firft difcovery of the Sandwich
Iflands, that in 1568, Mendana difcovered in the
latitude of 1 9^ 20' north, and 1 50° weft from the
meridian of Paris, according to the Spanifti charts,
an ifland by them named San Francisco*, fitu-
ated in the parallel of thefe iflands; to this, the
obfcurity of ancient narratives would juftly be
objected ; befides, the knowledge of an ifland in
the fame latitude as the group of the Sandwich
Iflands, proves not the knowledge of that very
group j and it might thence merely be concluded
that, in the parallel of thofe iflands, more to the
eaftward or more to the weft ward, there exift fome
other iflands.
But 1 examine the Spanifli chart of the Manilla
galleon •\ ; there I fee in the parallel of the Sand-
wich Iflands, about 18° to the eaftward of
* Hechos de Don Garcia de Mendaça, ^c. Par eL .Dr, Suarei
de Flgueroaf p. z^^.^Herrera, Defcrlp, de las Indias Occld,
chap. 27. — Lopes Vaz and others.
t See the two groups drawn on one plan and on the fame
fcale. Plate V,
Mendana's
061.179^0 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
Mendana's Ifland of San Francisco, a group
compofcd of four principal iflands, and of fome
others of fmaller extent : the moft fouthern is
alfo the largeft : the middle of this ifland is in the
latitude of about 19° 20'; it is called La Mesa :
to the north-weft of this, are feen two fomewhat
confiderable iflands> grouped with four others
much fmaller : the fix together are defignated by
the colle6live word of Los Monjes* (the Monks) :
from the middle of La Mesa to the middle of
the group> we may reckon about forty leagues.
Let us at prefent examine the eaftern group of
the Sandwich Iflands : for it is well known that
thefe iflands form two difl:in6l groups -, the Weftern
group which was explored by Cook in January
1778, in his run from the Society ifles to the
NORTH-WEST coafl of AMERICA, and the Eaftern
group of which he had no knowledge till his return
from that coaft in the month of November fol-
lowing.
The eaftern group is, like that of La Mesa of
the Spaniards, compofed of four principal iflands
and of a few others of lefs extent : the fouthern-
moft ifland, O-Whyhee, is alfo the i^rgeft : the
• * On the cop7 of this map, publiflied by Commodore A?i/on
we read los Mojosy in lieu of los Motijes ; this is a miftake ;
D. Tomas Lopezy on his Mapa de America 1772, writes Los
Monjesy and it is well known that this denomination of Los
Mottjes (the Monks) is not rare on Spanifti Maps for defignating
fmall iflands aflembled iij g group,
VOL. II, c moft
i8 marciiand's voyage. [061:. 1791.
moft remarkable part of this ifland, the high moun-
tain of RoA, is, like the middle of La Mesa of
the Spaniards, fituated nearly in the latitude of 1 9®
,20': to the north- weft of O-Whyhee, as well as
to the north-weft of La Mesa, are two fomewhat
confiderable iflands, grouped with three other
fmaller iflands j only, the fmall iflands are not
here three in number ; and we reckon four in the
Spanifti group : from the middle of O-Whyhee
to the middle of its group, as well as from the
middle of La Mesa to the middle of the group
to which it belongs, we reckon forty leagues : in
fhort, both groups alike occupy from two to three
degrees in latitude, and upwards of three degrees
in longitude.
Thus, it is feen that, to defcribe the eaftern
group of the Sandwich Iflands, I have had only
to repeat what I had faid in defcribing the group
of La Mesa : the fame latitude, the fame bearing
of the iflands with refpedl to each other, the fame
number, the fame difpofition, the fame total ex-
tent: it is not poflible to unite more charadleriftics
of identity.
To thefe geographical, and, unqueftionably,
fufficient proofs, I fluall add another which is not
without fome weights but whiph, however, I
fliould have offered as a probability rather than as
a proof, were it not fupported by the former.
Firft, I obferve that the principal ifland of the
group on the Spanifli chart is called La Mesa,
in
061. 179'*'] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
^9
in Englifh the Table, I obferve, in the fécond
place, that this name of Table is an appellative
name which navigators are accuftomed to employ
for the purpofe of defignating a mountain whofe
fummit is flat : every one has heard of the Table-
mountain, of the Cape of Good Hope; on the
coaft of Spain, in the Mediterranean, we find
Orlando'^ Table, &c. Thus, it cannot be
doubted that the Spaniards were determined to
impofe on their ifland the name of La Mesa,
becaufe it was remarkable from fome great moun-
tain terminated by a platform, by a Table, But the
Ifland of O-Whyhee which anfwers, in one group,
to the Ifland of La Mesa in the other, is alike
remarkable, as has been feen, from a great moun-
tain whofe flat fummit reprefents a long table ; the
natives call it Mowna-Roa, from the generic name
Mowna (mountain) and from the word Roa,
extended, or of a great extent. May not this Ami-
litude of the two mountains, in a particularity, in
a figure which is not very frequently met with, be
admitted as a frcfli proof of the identity of the two
groups ?
I am not difpofed to believe that it is meant to
confider the galleon's chart as not being authentic,
and deferving of no confidence j for it is well known
that this chart was intrufl:ed only to the captain
of the fliip, and it was on this chart, that, with
his pilot, he regulated his courfe 5 and, undoubt-
€2 Cdly,
20
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [061. lygt.
edly, it will not be fuppofed that the Spaniards
there placed imaginary iflands, efpecially when
we fee thefe illands defignated by fignificative names :
thofe who know the jealous uneafinefs of the
government of Spain in regard to her pofîeflions
in America, and her ancient difcoverics in the
Great Ocean, will rather be inclined to believe
that they have never allowed that all the lands
which her navigators have difcovered fhould be
laid down on their charts. Thefe lands would there
be improperly placed, no doubt, efpecially in
longitude j but at lead it would be known that
they exifl : and more Ikilful navigators would one
day contrive to find them again, and bring us ac-
quainted with them.
To the proofs which I have given of the identity
of the Sandwich Iflands and of the group of La
Mesa, will be oppofed : ^
ift. That Cook faw no ifland, twenty- five
leagues to the north-eaft of O-Whyhee, which
can reprefent to us La Desgraciada, an ifland
fituated on the galleon's chart, at that diftance
and in that bearing, in regard to La Mesa ;
2nd. That Cook difcovered to the weft-north-
weft, and at the diftance of twenty-five leagues from
the wefternmoft of the eaftern group of the Sand-
wich Iflands, a fécond group, compofed of two
iflands and two iflots; and that the Spanifli chart
does not indicate this group.
To
0£l. 1791-] MARCHAND's voyage. 21
To the firft obje6tion I anfwer, that, if La
Desgraciada was not perceived by Captain
Cook, it is not a proof that it does not exifl:.
When this navigator, in coming from the fouth-
Weirdy fell in with the weftern group of the Sand-
wich Iflands, he did not even perceive the eaftern
group ; ftill lefs could he have feen an ifland fitu-
ated twenty- five leagues to the north- eaft of the
latter: and when, ten months after, in returning
from the northward, he looked for the group which
he had vifited the preceding year, he met with
the eaftern group about the middle of its extent
from north-weft to fouth-eaft^ he then failed very
clofely round the Ifland of O-Whyhee; and it
is not very aftonifhing that he fliould not have
feen an ifland which, to judge of it from the name
that has been impofed on it by the Spaniards, La
Desgraciadia, the ifland unfavoured by Nature,
the mijerahle ifland, may be a land of no great
appearance, and even a lov/ ifland. If the reader
caft his eye on the planifphere publiflied by
Arrowsmith in 1794, and on which are marked
the tracks of all the navigators in the vicinity of the
Sandwich Iflands i he will fee no one that does
not pafs too far from La Desgraciada for this
ifland to have pofllbly been perceived from the fliips
which have fleered thefe tracks. Butlftiall add that
it is not proved that La Desgraciada was dif-
covered by the fame navigator who difcovered La
c 3 Mesa \
22 marchand's voyage. [0£1. 1791.
Mesa; and he who met with the former, could
not place it according to his difierence of longi-
tude in regard to a group which he did not fee,
which perhaps he did not even know of, but in
the abfolute longitude that he afligned to it ac-
cording to his dead reckoning, fince he had quitted
the coaft of America 5 and the galleon^s chare
muft have placed it according to this abfolute
longitude : now, in this cafe, it might probably
happen that there was a great error in the longi-
tude of La Desgraciada, and that this ifland
which, on the galleon*s chart, is feen to differ in
longitude, in regard to La Mesa, only a degree
towards the eaft, might differ from it, on the globe,
feveral degrees in the fame direftion, and perhaps
even in a contrary one. As much may be faid of
an ifland, called Ulva, which, in the galleon's
chart, is laid down in the parallel of 23° north,
half a degree to the eaftward of the meridian of
La Desgraciada. It is a principle which mufl
be admitted, that when two iflands have not been
difcovered by the fame navigator, and in the
fame voyage, in pafHng from the one to the other,
we can depend only on the latitude affjgned to
each ifland, that is to fay, depend on it within half
a degree , but that, in this cafe, their abfolute lon-
gitude is fo uncertain that we cannot, if we wifli
to find them again, difpenfe with getting into their
refpedtive parallel, two or three hundred leagues
aftern
Oà. 1791-] MARCHAND's VOYAGE.
23
aftern of the place where the chart fixes their
pofition, and then navigating on this parallel till
we fucceed in meeting with the ifland*.
To the fécond objedion I anf/^er, that the
Spaniards who faw the group of La Mesa, the
eaftern group of the Sandwich Iflands, may very
polTibly not have feen the two iflands and the
two iflots which form the weflern group ; by the
fame reafon that Cook, (which might appear more
extraordinary,) when he faw for the firft time the
weftern group, did not perceive the eaftern group,
although fome of the iflands which compofe it
can be feen at the diftance of forty or fifty leagues;
by the fame reafon again, that this navigator faw
not, thirty leagues to the north-weft of his weftcrn
group, Bird Ifland and Montagu Ifland-j-, which,
fubfequentiy to his laft voyage, fome Englifh navi-
gators have difcovered: and if, as may be pre-
fumed, the Sandwich Iflands are only the fum-
mits of a chain of fubaqueous mountains, it
might fo happen that this chain might extend
farther to the north-weft, and form other iflands^
* Here we are fpeaking only of the difcoveries of the ancient
navigators who determined the longitudes nearly by chance ;
for the moderns can employ, for fixing the pofitions of the lands
which they difcover, means that give to thofe who know
how to employ fimilar ones, the affurance of finding with facility
the places where they wifh to touch.
t Thefe are laid down on the General Chart of the Worlds
and on the Planifphere, publiihed by Arro^fmith^ the former in
1790, the latter in 1794,
ç 4 beyofid
24
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
[oa. ,79t.
beyond thofe which thefe recent navigators have
difcovered.
It feems to me then that the obje6lions which,
in order to do away, or at lead to weaken the idea
of the identity of the eallern group of the Sand-
wich Iflands, and of that which the galleon's chart
places in the fame latitude, in the fame number of
iflands, occupying the fame fpace, and difpofed
in the fame manner, fliould be fupported, on the
one hand, on Captain Cook's not having perceived
La Desgraciada, on the other, on the Spaniards
not having had a knowledge of the weftern group
of the Sandwich Ifiands, it feems to me, I fay,
that thefe objed:ions are eftabhftied on arguments
which cannot bear a difcuffion.
Perhaps it will be objeded to me, as a laft
refource, that the two groups differ too much in
longitude, for it to be pofFible to take them for
one and the fame group s and, in fa6l, O- Whyhee,
taken at its middle, is, according to the obferva-
tions of the Englifli, 158^ weft from Paris, and
La Mesa, on the galleon's chart, is 24*^ weft from
the meridian of San Joseph in California-!*,
and, confequently, 136° weft from that of Paris.
But this difference of 22° is far from being a
proof againft the identity of the two groups : who
+ The longitude of San Jofeph^ according to the obfervations
of the Abbé Chappe, is 112^ 2' 30^' weft from the meridian of
Farts* (See Voyage en Californie^ page 85 to 88.)
does
Oft. 1791 •] MARCHAND's VOYAGE.
25
does not know that, when the queftion relates to
the ancient difeoveries in the Great Ocean, we
look only to the latitude which cannot be afFeded
by a very great error 3 to the whole, and the general
difpofition of the two groups that we are com-
paring ; to the number, to the diftances and to the
refpeélive bearings of the iflands which compofe
themj in fhort, to a union of remarkable par-
ticularities, which is not to be found the fame in
two different groups. The famous Solomon.
Iflands, difcovered by Mendana in 1567, partly
found again by Bougainville in 1768, in a
greater part ftill by Surville, in 1769*, vifited
twice, latterly, by Dentrecasteaux f, and whofe
geographical
* See the Découvertes des Français dans le Sud-ejî de la
Kowvelle Guinée» — Paris, Impr. Royale, 4to, 1790* page 85 to
100, 199 to 231.
+ Fra?ice has not, hitherto, been able to gather the fruits
of the voyage which De?itrecafteaux undertook in order to go
in fearch of La Pérou/e's frigates : but this harveft is ftill
entire ; and, no doubt, thofe in whofe pofTeflion it has remained,
will be fenfible of how much importance it is to the utility
of the fciences in general, and to that of navigation and
geography in particular, that the difeoveries which he made in
the couife of a long expedition, and all the labour of his co-
operators, ftiould not be loft to a nation which bore the expenfe
of it, and to Europe, which ought to ftiare the benefit.
Dentrecajîeauxy already fatigued by long and uninterrupted
fervices, carried with him the germ, perhaps indeftruftible, of
that fatal diforder which is with difficulty avoided by thofe
whofe conftitution has for a length of time been affeékd by
long voyages, rapidly repeated, and without a necelfary interval
of
26
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [08:. Ijgî^
geographical pofition is irrevocably fixed, occu-
pkd, for upwards of two centuries, on various
hydrographicâl charts, pofitions in longitude, the
extremes of which differed a thoufand marine
leagues, or about fifty degrees. Quiros's Tier r a
Austral del Espiritu Santo, feen and ex-
plored for the firfi: time in 1606, by the Spanifli
navigator of that name, and found again in 1769,
by Bougainville, long remained attached to
New Holland, of which it was prefumed that
it muft form a part: at this day, it has retired five
of repofe : he could not withftand freHi attacks, the violence
ct which was necefFarily increafed by a voyage of two years
irader the torrid zone. He funk, and carried with him the
£ncere regret of all thofe fubje(f^ to his authority, which he
always found means to maintain without ever fufîering its.
weight to be felt. His virtues rendered him dear to his
friends, and refpeded by every one who knew him, as his ta-
lents, his courage, and his experience in his profelfion, and in
the details of adminiftration, rendered him ufeful to his coun-
try. Theexcefs of his zeal lliortened his days ; but, before he
terminated a career which he had fo honourably filled, he had at
leaft the fatisfaftion of having brought the dangerous expedition,
i»ith which he was intruded, to fuch a point, that what re-
mained to be done might be confidered in the light of an
ordinary voyage.
The reader, undoubtedly, will not difapprovc of Friendlhip
having, by the way, llrewn a few flowers over the grave of a
jnan, whofe memory claims from his countrymen, and from
navigiators of all countries, a tribute of gratitude which they
^^ill be eager to pay him, as foon as circumftances fliall have
»l'ioivc^l his labours to be refcued from oblivion, and E?iropc
ftiali be informed of what he has done^ and what deferved.
hundred
Oft. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOTAGE. S/
hundred leagues to the eaftward of that vaft coun-
try. When a newly-difcovered group prefents
feveral inconteftable charaderiftics of identity with
another, which we know to have been feen in
former times, let us beware of faying that it is
not the fame group, from the fole reafon that it
was found in a longitude different from that which
the firft dijcoverer had indicated only from the
erroneous diftance at which he fuppofed it to be
from the continent of America, whence he ^had
been difpatched. And fuch has been the fate of
part of the infulated difcoveries of the Spaniards:
daring adventurers, bold in trying fortune and
chances, lucky in their courfe, ignorant in tracing
it, fatisfied, in fhort, with having difcovered half
of the globe, they have left to others the taflc of
finding again what they themfelves feemed to have
forgotten.
In depriving Captain Cook of the barren honour
of the firft difcovery of the Sandwich Iflands,
I deprive him not of the fmalleft portion of that
fame which he has fo juftly acquired : I will even
fay that it is adding, if poffible, to his merits
for merit confifts in fiilding what we look for,
in having combined the means that might lead to
the difcovery ; and to difcover what we were not
looking for, is the merit of chance, which ought
not juftly to be affigned to the fharc of the navi-
gator whom chance has favoured j it is a borrowed
merits
28 maIeichand's voYA<SE. [Oa.
merit 1 and Captain Cook, fo rich in his own
difcoveries, ought to borrow nothing, as he can
have nothing to envy in the adventurers to whom
we are, before his time, indebted for the fhapelefs
knowledge of the globe. If difcoveries immor-
talize thofe who have made them, they alfo
immortalize thofe who have brought them to per-
fection.
Lieutenant Roberts, who conftruded the ge-
neral chart of the third voyage of the Englilh
navigator, on which are traced his three Voyages
round the World, and towards both poles, has
preferved the group of La Mesa of the galleon's
chart, and placed it, taken at its middle, 19° eafl:
from O-Whyhee and on the parallel of that
ifland: it fhould feem that, in thus preferving the
group difcovered by the Spaniards, he was de-
firous that no one fhould dare to conteft with the
Englifh the firft difcovery of the SANDwicHlflands.
But Arrowsmith, both on his General Chart of
1790, and on his Planifphere of 1794, facrificing,
no doubt, national vanity to evidence, has done
juftice to this double adoption. As far back as
1786, La Pe rouse who, with a view of afcer-
taining whether there exifted any iflands to the
eaftward of the Sandwich group, had made a
point of running, in their parallel, three hundred
leagues from eafl to weft, neither perceived, over
this whole fpace, any detached ifland, nor faw any
fign
Oft. 179^-3 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. «9
r
fign of land ; though from the afpeft of the Ifland
of O- Why H EE, and its /^2^/<?-mountain, he had
no doubt of its being La Mesa of the Spaniards.
But in effacing the group to which La Mesa
belongs, and which becomes the eaftern group of
the Sandwich Iflands, Arrowsmith has alfo
totally effaced the Ifland of Roca-Partida, fitu-
ated, on the galleon's chart, about one hundred
and forty leagues to the eaft-fouth-eaft of La
Mesa, and on a parallel lefs northerly by three
degrees and a half : he has merely fuffered La
NuBLADA to fubfift, whofe name indicates a high
land, over which clouds hang; and it is laid down
a hundred leagues to the eaftward and on the
parallel of Roca-Partida. This laft- mentioned
ifland was difcovered, in, 1542 by the Caftilian
pilot Juan Gaetano, in the flrfl: voyage that
the Spaniards ever attempted, from the weft coaft
of New Spain to the great archipelago of Asia.
Before he had reached Roca-Partida, Gaetano
had difcovered, on the fame parallel, and two
hundred leagues to the eaftward, according to his
reckoning, another ifland which he had called San
Tomas*. This ifland, fltuated to the eaftward
of Roca-Partida, and which bears no name on
the galleon's chart, might be that which the modern
charts defignate by the name of La Nublada,
* See Ramujio. De lie Navlgatlonl e Viaggz, ^c, Venetia^
Gluntu 1^6^, Vol, I, fol, 375, *ven^>
4
We
MARCH AN p's VOYAGE. [OEi. I79I.
We are not juftified in fuppofing that La Nublada,
or Gaetano's San Tomas, are one and the fame
ifland, fince the Spanifli navigator difcovered theni
fucceffively, in the fame voyage, in (landing from
the eaftward to the weftward^ and impofed on them
different names.
Hitherto, neither Roca-Partida nor San
Tomas, or La Nublada, have been found again;
but let us not be in a hurry to efface them from
our charts : let us not forget that the Solomon
Iflands had thence difappeared, fince fome geo-
graphers, fupporting themfelves on the opinion of
the learned Alexander Dalrymple, had fup-
pofed that thefe iflands muft be the eafl: part of
New Guinea : and at this day, the archipelago
of the Solomon Iflands occupies its particular
place on the «globe, over an extent of two hun-
dred leagues, forty leagues to the fouth-eaft of that
New Guinea, with which k was wifhed to be
confounded*. Let us fuffer all the iflands to
fubfift which the Spaniards have pointed out to
us on their charts or in their narratives, till we
have well afcertained their identity with others ;
let us preferve them, were it only as beacons^, which
attrad; the attention of the navigator, and engage
him to make refearches.
* See the Dc couvertes des Français dans le Sud-ejî de la
Nouvelle Guinée, page .4 to ig — 85 to 154 — 201 to 231— The -
voyage of Dentrecajieaux has confirmed what was there fa.id
of thefe illands.
6 I ihall
OR, 1791.] marchand's voyage.
I fhall terminate this digreffion, rather long
perhaps, but which, however, is not void of utility,
by obferving that chronological accuracy, hifloricai
truth, and j.uftice, alike require that in placing the
Sandwich Iflands on the map of the globe, they
flîould no longer be laid down with the erroneous
indication of iflands dijcovered by Captain Cook,
There might be written above this archipelago :
Sandwich Iflands ^ explored, and . named by Captain
Cook in l'j'j'è', formerly dijcovered by the Spaniflj
navigators : this would be to declare what belongs
to the moderns, and at the fame time to reftore
to the ancients what they have a right to claim.
I return to the journal of Captain Marchand,
He took his departure from the Ifland of
0-Whyhee, on the afternoon of the 7th of Odo-
ber, and lhaped his courfe for China.
O-Whyhée and Mowee, the two eafternmoft
ifiands of the eaftern group of the Sandv/ich
Iflands, both appear particularly remarkable from
mountains of the greateft elevation. In order to
cftimate, by approximation, the height of their
fummiits above the level of the fea, I fhall make
ufe of the greateft diftances at which thefe moun -
tains were perceived from the Solide, diftance^
calculated from the way that the fhip had made
in light of the land, and rectified by- the obferva-
tion of the latitude.
We find by Captain Ch>nal's journal, that on
the 5th at fix o'clock in the morning, he fet, at
\ the
02 MARCH AN d's VOYAGE. [061. 179!-
the fame time, the mountain of the Ifland of
Mo WEE bearing north-eaft 2 or 3° eaft, and that
of MowNA-RoA of the Ifland of O-Whyhee,
eaft by north 2 or 3° eaft : he reckoned that the
fhip was then at the diftance of thirty-fix leagues
from both of them. At half paft five o^clock
in the afternoon, he ftill perceived very diftinélly
the fummit of Mowna-Roa, bearing eaft 2° 30'
north, although he was forty- fix leagues diftant
from the weft coaft of the ifland, and, confequently,
about fifty leagues from the fummit of the moun-
tain.
If, with this diftance of fifty leagues, and regard
being had to the deprefllon of the horizon and th'e
efFe6t of terreftrial refra6lion, it be wiflied to feek
by calculation, what muft be the height of the
fummit of MowNA-RoA, in order to be perceived
at the diftance of fifty leagues, it will be found
that it is 2598 toifes, and ^thence it will be con-
cluded that, next to Chimboraço in Peru whofe
height is 3220 toifes, Mowna-Roa is the higheft
mountain on the globe: for Pinchincha which
occupied the fécond place, is but 2434 toifes ;
Mount Blanc which occupied the third, 2391 ;
and the Peak of Teyde or Teneriffe, which
occupied the fourth, 1905 toifes only, according
to the trigonometrical and barometrical calcula-
tions of Borda*. Mowna-Roa is therefore loftier
* See Note II.
than
OB:. 1791. J maîichand's voyage.
â^3
than the Peak of Teneriffe, by 694 toifes ; and
this refult would fee m to confirm that given by
Captain Kino in the third volume of Cook's lad
voyage : he fays that this mountain mufl be at
" leaft 16,020 feet high, which exceeds the height
of the Pico de Teyde or Peak of Teneriffe,
by 724 feet, according to Dr. Heberden's
" computation, or 3680 Englifh feet or 3452
French feet, according to that of the Chevalier
*^ de Borda,"**' which gives 575^ toifes, left -, this
differs, in defed, only 19I; toifes, from the height
that I have deduced from the data furnilhed me
• by Captain Chanal's journal.
But Captain King obtained his refult by a
method different from that which I employed
to arrive at mine : he took for the bafis of his
calculation, according to the principle adopted by
La Con dam in e for meafuring the heights of the
Andes or Cordilleras, the elevation of the line
at which the fnow remains all the year on the
high mountains between the tropics. This method
was not applicable to the mountains of the Sand-
wich Iflands, fmce it has been feen that, in the
month of 06tober, there exifted no fnow on any
part of thefe iflands. I therefore confider it as
the effedt of chance that King's refult and mine
agree, within a trifling difference. I obferve that
King, ftill following the principle which he
* Cook's third Voyage^ Vol. III. pages 103 and 104.
VOL. II. D adopted.
34
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Oil. 179I.
adopted, adds that the height of Mowna-Roa
muft be much greater than that which he afllgns
to it ; for, fays he, " in infular fituaticns, the
efFeds of the warm fea-air muft necefîarily
remove the line of fnow, in equal latitudes, to
a greater height than where the atmofphere is
chilled on all fides by an immenfe trad of per-
petual fnow." The principle is true, and the
application of it would be juft, if it had for its
objed iflands where the fnow Ihould laft the whole
year; but it cannot be admitted with refpeél to
thofe v;here the fnow does not refift the fummer
-funs *.
* In not adopting the confequence which Captain Kin^^ has
drawn from the principle on which he refts for deciding that
the height of Monx)na-Roa muft be much greater than that which
he determines, and which is, within a trifling difference, the
fanie as that I have deduced from the diftance at which its flat
fummit was very clearly diftinguifhed from the Solide, I am far
from pronouncing that the height of the mountain does not
exceed the 2598 toifes given me by calculation; for Captain
Chanal related to me verbally that, on the loth at fun-rife,
feveral perfons belonging to the ihip were convinced that they
ftill perceived the Table of Monjona-Roa in a line with the
horizon ; and, at this period, according to the run which had
been made during the night, the Solide muft have been fifty-
three leagues diftant from it at leaft ; which would give to the
mountain upwards of 2700 toifes in elevation above the level of
the fea.
Captain Chajial had not thought it neceffary to infert this
obfervation in his journal, becaufe he had not been able to fee
with his own eyes ; but he told me that, on other occafions, he
had difcovered that feveral of the people had a fight which
extended much farther than his.
The
0£l. 1791.] marchand's voyage.
35
The fame obferver eftimates^ according to his
method, the height of Mowna-Kaa, (the northern
mountain of the Ifland of O-V/hyhee) at half a
mile or 475 toifes; and he adds, that this com-
putation mud be too low, for the fame reafon that
he lias given for fuppofmg too fmall the cftirtiation
which he has made of Mowna-Roa. Captain
Chanal's journal affords us no datum for deter-
mining the elevation of Mowna-Kaa, but Surgeon
RoBLET thinks that the eftimation which Captain
King fuppofes to be too low, is, on the contrary,
very rnuch exaggerated.
In order to find the height of the mountain of
MowEE, the fécond ifland of the eaftern group,
we fhall calculate according to the diftance of
thirty-fix leagues, eftimated by the eye, at which
it was perceived on the morning of the 9th ; and
it will be found that its fummit is 1346 toifes
high : this height is between that of Mount St.
GoTHARD, 143 1, and that of the convent on the
Great St. Bernard, 1241 toifes.
The Ifland of Atooi, the wefternmofl of the
weftern group, is alfo very lofty ; for, on the
loth, at noon, it bore north-north-weft 3 or
norths and, according to the latitude of the fliip
obferved at the fame inftant, and compared with
the known latitude of the ifland, the diftance from
the fliip to Atooi muft have been thirty leagues :
the height of the mountain is therefore 12 16
toifes.
D 2 In
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Oû. lygt.
In the interval from noon on the 9th to noon on
the loth, the Ihip had experienced the efFeft of a
violent current, which had carried her 29 minutes,
or nine leagues and two thirds to the northward,
as was afcertained by comparing the difference of
the latitudes obferved on the 9th and loth, with
the difference deduced from the dead reckoning
during the fame twenty-four hours. Captain
Marchand had conftantly fleered wefl-north-
weft 3^ 45^ north, allowing for the variation ; the
wind had blown very faintly and unfteadily from
the fouthward during the firft five hours ; in the
night, it had been calm ; and, from two o'clock
in the morning till noon on the loth, the wind
had flood in the north-eafl quarter, very faint and
baffling; the fliip had made very little way through
the water : it may therefore be fuppofed that, as
fhe was abreafl of all the channels that feparate
both the two groups, and the iflands of which
they are compofed, the rapid current which, no
doubt, thefc channels occafion, had aéled with all
its velocity and ftrength againft the ihip whofe
route crofTed its dire6lion ; and, by caufing her
to drift bodily to the northward, although her ap-
parent route was weft-north-weft, it had carried,
her ten leagues in twenty-four in the former
diredion.
On the iith, at break of day, no land was to
be feen.
The
OB:. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
37
The run acrofs the Great O ce a re with regular
and fleady winds, prefents only a monotonous
feries of remarks relative to the velocity and the
diredion of the currents, and their influence on
the fhip's courfe : I have thought it my duty to
throw them into the notes -, and I invite the nau-
tical reader to confult them*.
Captain Marchandas intention had at firft been
to fteer between the twentieth and twenty-firft
parallel north, and to follow this direflion as far
as China. 1 his track, little frequented, and
which afforded the hope of fome difcovery, is,
undoubtedly the mod dired, and may, at the firft
glance, appear the fhorteft; but he was juftly ap-
prehenfive, (and the calms which he had recently
met with ftrengthened this apprehenfion) of find-
ing only faint and variable breezes, if he perfifted
in keeping on the border of the trade-winds ; he
therefore determined to penetrate farther into the
region which they occupy, and he kept between
the thirteenth and fourteenth degree of north lati-
tude, crowding fail, till, on the 2nd of November,
he had reached the longitude of 148° 14' eaftfrom
the meridian of Paris -j-. He then ftood again a
little to the northward, and got nearly into the
latitude of 15°, which is the parallel of Tinian,
one of the iOands that compofe the Mary-Anne
♦ ^■^^ Notes LII toLV.
i See Note LVI. and the Journal of the Route at the date of
the 2nd of November,
p 3 Archipelago,
38
marchand's voyage. [061. 1791.
Archipelago, which he purpofed to make, in order
to crofs it between this ifland and that of Saypan.
This iongitude of 148° 14' on the 2nd, was the
mean refult of four fets of diftances from the moon
to the fun, obferved at half pall t;wo o'clock in the
afternoon, by Captain Marchand and Captain
Chanal, and reduced to noon.
In allowing for the fliip's progrefs by account
towards the weft, in the interval from the 2nd to
the 3d, it was computed that at noon of the latter
day, flie had reached the longitude of 146° 7' eaft
from Paris, at the fame time that fhe was in
15° 6^ north latitude.
The obfervations of Captain Wallis on board
the Dolphin, in 1767, place the Ifiandof Tinian,
in 143° 35' 45''* 5 thus, at noon, the Solide mufh
have been at no more than 2° 31^ 15'' to the eafi:-
ward of this ifland ; and at fun-fet. Captain
Marchand reckoned * that he was only at the
diftance of thirty-fix leagues from it.
He regulated his fail fo as to difcover the ifland
the next morning, and fufficiently early for him t^Cf
hope to crofs the archipelago during the day :
but all night there was tempeftuous weather, with
rain and fqualls.
It was not till three o'clock in the afternoon
that he got fight of the ifland j and, in eftimating
* See Ajironomical Ob/ervations made \n the Voyages for makhig
Difcoteries in the Southern Hem'jfpkere» By W. Wales, London,
1788. 4to. Introduction, page X.
his
Nov. 1791.] marchand's voyage.
39'
his difiance from it by the eye, he judged it per-
fectly conformable to the refuît of the obferva-
tions which had been made on the preceding
days.
At three quarters pad five, the mean refult of
two fets of diftances of the fun and moon, com-
bined with that of four other fets obferved on the
2nd, gave 143° 38' for the eaft longitude of the
fhip, which places the eailern extremity of Tinian^
according to the bearing that was taken of it at
the fame inftant and its eftimated diftance, in
143^ 33': it has been feen that the obfervations of
Wallis placed it in 143*^ 35- 45^^: thus the obfer-
vations made on board the Dolphin and thofe
made on board the Solide agree in their refults,
and this agreement may be confidered as the proof
of a fufficient accuracy in this determination*.
Captain Thomas Gilbert places Tinian in
146° eaft from Greenwich, or 143° 39' 45'^ eaft
from Paris but he does not mention on what
obfervations he has founded the pofition which he
afiigns to it: Dixon gives it only 143^ lo'J •
As for the latitude of Tinian, Captain Mar-
chand was not enabled to obferve it immediately;
but Gilbert has concluded from his obfervations,
* See Note LVII.
f Voyage from Neiv' South Wales to Canton In the year 1 788.
By Thomas Gilbert j commander of the Charlotte, Londony 1789.
4to. page 63.
:|; Dixon* s Voyage} page 284.
that
40
marchand's voyage. [Nov. 1791.
that the middle of the ifland is fituated in 15^
Captain Wall I s fixed the point of the rocd
where he was at anchor;, and which is lefs
northerly than the middle of the iQand, at 14° 55^
and the watering-place which is not far diftant
from the fouth-weft point, at 14° 59'*. Dixof^
places the ifland^, in general, in, i5° j. All thefe
pofidons agree with each other.
This is not the cafe with the latitude which
Commodore Anson had, afTigned to this ifland: he
places it in .15° 8' J: but although, at the period
when the obfervation was made. Had ley's qua-
drant had for ten years been in ufe in the Englifh
navy, and although it was undoubtedly employed
ort board Anson's fhip, I do not think that any
regard ought to be paid to this determination ; and
the middle of the ifland may be fixed in 1 5° north.
This difference between the latitudes determined
by Anson, and thofe ohferved by recent naviga-
tors, is again to be found nearly the fame in regard
to Saypan, The Commodore's journal places
this ifland, without/ any other indication than its
name, in 15*^ 2:^': we are juflified in believing
that this latitude applies to the Peak, the mod
remarkable part of the ifland ; and, in this cafe^
* Hanvkefworth' s Co?ripilation, Vol. I. page. 500.
"f Dixori's Voyage^ page 284.
+ A Voyage round tha World in the year^ 1740- 1.1-42-43 and
44. By George An/on» Compiled by Richard V/ alter. The
3 2 th Edition, London, 4to. 17^7. pao;e 308.
it
Nov. 1791.]. marchand's voyage.
it would differ by 9 minutes from that given by
the obfervations made on board the Solide, ac-
cording to which this mountain mull be fituated
in 15° 13': but if the former determination was
applied to the northern point of Saypan, it dif-
fered only by 1 or 3 minutes from the refult of the
later obfervations, which, as will be feen, place
this point in 15° 19 or 20'.
At fix o'clock in the evening, the Solide was
at the opening of the paffage, through which a
fhip may crofs this archipelago between this ifland
and that of Tinian ; but it would not have been
prudent to enter it at the moment when the day
was on the point of clofing, and Captain Mar-
chand determined to ftand to the offing during
the night. He had reafon to congratulate himfelf
on the refolution that he had taken -, for he met
with frequent puffs of wind, and fome very hard
fqualls, which might have occafioned him embar-
rafTmcnt and uneafinefs, had the fhip been engaged
among lands, and there obliged to alter her courfe
according to the changes of the wind.
On the 5th, at the firft dawn of day, he again
ftood in for the land.
At three quart€rs paft fix, the pafi^age between
the iflands bore weft-fouth-weft 6° well, diftant
about fix leagues : and although Captain Mar-
chand carried a prefs of fail, the fhip drifted to
the northward fo confiderably, that he had no
hopes of being able to clear the paffage with the
7 wind
42 MARCHAND's VOYAGE* [Nov. I79I.
wind which blew from the fouth-fouth-eaft and
fouth by eaft. At half paft feven o'clock, he
bore up north-weft by weft in order to pafs to
the northward of Saypan. He ranged along the
north-eaft coaft of this ifland at the diftance of
about two leagues. At three quarters paft eight,
its north-eaft point, which is the moft northern
extremity, bore weft 2° fouth, dftant two leagues :
no land was perceived to the northw^ard. Before
ten o'clock, was difcovered, on the weft coaft of
the ifland, an iflot which bore fouth-weft 6"^ weft
in one with the north point of Saypan. At noon,
this point bore fouth-eaft by fouth 1° fouth, and
at a diftance of about four leagues ; the weft ex-
tremity of the ifland, fouth by eaft i or 2° fouth s
and the iflot, fouth by eaft 6^ fouth.
The latitude obferved at the fame inftant was
ï 5° 30'; and thence the northern point of Saypan
was found to be in 15° 19 or io\ The peak of
this ifland is fituated, nearly, in latitude 15° 13',
and in about 143° 30' eaft longitude.
In comparing the latitude obferved at nôon,
with that which refulted from the dead reckoning
during the preceding twenty-four hours, it was
difcovered, that, in this interval of time, the cur-
rents had carried the fl^iip 17 minutes, or five
leagues and two thirds, to the northward*.
* See the Journal of the Route at the date of the 5 th of
November,
6 Ships
Nov. 179 1'-] marchand's voyage. 421
Ships which crofs the Archipelago of the Mary-
Anne IHands are accuftomed to pafs between
Saypan and Tinian, or to the fouthvvard of
the latter ifland : thefe two paiïages are the m oft
frequented, becaufe they are the beft known.,
Circumftances, as has been feën, forced the Solide
to pafs to the northward of Saypan ; and Captain
Chanal thinks, from the remarks which he was
enabled to make, that, in all cafes, this lail-men-
tioned paffage would deferve to be preferred to
the other two, when it is not intended to touch at
Tinian. He faw no ifland, no Ihoal, to the north-
ward of the northern part of Saypan : the charts,
indeed, indicate, under the name of Farellon, a
ledge or fhoal, fituated in the latitude of 16%
under the very meridian of the ifland ; but it is
there placed at the diflance of twelve leagues from
its northern point. Off the north-eaft coaft, and
the north point, are a few breakers 3 but they fliew
themfelves, and do not extend a mile into the
offing. A fhip may double the ifland to the north-
ward, and range along its coafl: with fafety, leaving,
between the land and her, a diftance of one or two
leagues.
The Ifland of Saypan, uninhabited like that of
Tinian, feems not, as far as a judgment can be.
formed from coalling its north fide, to afford the
fame refrefliments to fliips thatfliould touch there:
only, among the trees with which the north-eaft
coaft
44 marchand's voyage. [Nov. 1791.
coafl is covered, are diftinguiflied a great quantity
of cocoa-palms.
Commodore Anson, who has given us a view
of the north-wefl: coaft of the iQand, fays that it
prefents not a lefs agreeable afpe6t than that of
TiNlAN.
In 1765, Commodore Byron caufed the Ifland
of Saypan to be vifited ^ and this is the only
defcription of any length that we have of it : the
nation which poiTefTes it, without occupying it, is
not in the habit of defcribing its pofleiïions. Ac-
^ cording to him, Saypan is confiderably larger
than T1NIAN, and, in his opinion, has a much
pleafanter appearance. But this fentiment is pecu-
liar to Byron -, and voyagers, in general, agree
in giving Tinian the preference to Saypan, both
in regard to extent and beauty : the Spaniards
have denominated it Buena-Vista by way of ex-
cellence. The Tamar (the fhip which Byron
fcnt to examine the Ifiand of Saypan, while he
himfelf lay at Tinian), anchored, he fays, to
leeward of it, in about ten fathoms water, with
much the fame kind of ground (hard fand and
coral rock) as he had in the road of Tinian.
tier people landed upon a fine fandy beach which
is fix or feven miles long, and walked up into the
woods, where they faw many trees which wer£
very fit for topmafiç. They faw no fowls, nor
any tracks of catties but of hogs and guana-
coes
Nov. 1791-] marchand's voyage. 45
coes* there was plenty. They found no frefli water
near the beach, but faw a large pond inland, which
they did not examine. They fawlarge heaps of pearl
oyfter-fhells thrown up together, and other figns
of people having been there not long before : pof-
fibly the Spaniards," adds he, ^* may go thither
at fome feafons of the year, and carry on a pearl-
fifhery : they alfo faw many of thofe fquare pyra-
midal pillars which are to be found at Tinian,
* The Guanaco or Huamcu is the wild animal that takes the
name of Llama, when it is in a ftate of domefticity*. This
quadruped originally came from the high mountains of South
J?nerjcay and is Very common in Peru, where it performs the
fame funétions as the pack-horfe in Europe, and the camel in
Africa, The flefli of the young guanacoes is good eating. It
is aftonifhing that this animal Ihould be found on the Ifland of
Sajpan-, it certainly is not indigenous there; and it muft be
fappofed that the Spaniards have tranfported it thither from
Pern, in order to try to propagate the breed. Hitherto, Byro?/
is the only one who has feen any of the fpecies in the Mary^
Anne Illands ; at lead no other voyager makes mention of it ;
nor is it fpoken of in any defcription of the Ifland of Tlnian ;
but if the Spaniards wifhed to try to naturalize it in the Mary^
Anne Illands, they muft have preferred making a trial on Say pan,
the lands of which, more elevated than thofe of Timan, muft be
better faited to the guanaco,
* This fpecies refembles the Glaraa in many particulars of its externa^
form; but thefe arrimais never intermix, either in the wild or domefticated
ftate : befides this, the Camelus huanaciiswcii\t.s the protuberance on the breaft
peculiar to the Camelus glama \ it has a bunch on the back, which the former
animal has not; and its hind legs are likewife confiderably fhorter in pr -por-
tion ) whence its gait is a kind of bounding or hobuUng -Tranjlatsr,
and
46 marchand's voyage, [Nov. 1791.
ànd which are particularly defcribed in the account
of Lord Anson's voyage*."
Captain Portlock, who has given us a view of
Say PAN, fays that, although he coafted it within
the diftance of h^lf a mile, he could not obferve
on it an animal of any kind f .
At the firft fight of the Iflands of Tinian and
S AY pan, and efpecially at the afpe6t of the former.
Captain Marchand might have been tempted to
land on it : the feafon was favourable for his an-
choring there ; and he might hope to procure
fome of the refreihments which a long navigation
under the torrid zone occafions to be fo ardently
wiflied for by men overwhelmed by the excefs
of a confiant heat, and for a long time pail con-
demned to privations. But thefe privations and
the fatigues of the fea had not impaired the good
health which his fhip's company had enjoyed during
the whole voyage ; and the interefl: of the expedi-
tion and of the owners required that he fhould
know how to facrifice a few tranfitory enjoyments
to the inappreciable advantage of getting the ftart,
if poffible, in the markets of China, of the fhips
of other nations which, like the Solide, were to
bring thither furs from the north-west coafl of
America. The crew murmured not in the lead
at a decifion, the motives of which were known
* Ha^kefworth* s Compilation, Vol. I. page 121.
+ Port lock* s Vojage, page 317.
to
Nov. 1791-] marchand's voyage.
47
to them; they even abftained from manlfefting
any regret, that they might not add to that which
their commander felt for others, much more than
for himfcif.
While the Solide is making the beft of her
way towards the continent of Asia, let us fix our
eyes for a moment on the Ifland of Tinian, with-
out giving ourfelves up to a particular infpedion
of the other iflands that compofe the iong Archi-
pelago of Los Ladrones (the Thieves), to which
it belongs, and which form a chain of two hun-
dred leagues under the hundred and forty-fourth
meridian eaft from Paris, between the eleventh
and the twenty-firfl: parallel North.
Magellan, who difcovered this archipelago in
1 52 1, impofed on it the name of Islas de los
Ladrones; becaufe the inhabitants ofthefe iflands,
who had no idea of the exclufive right of property,
fraternally appropriated to themfelves, on board
his ihip, every thing that came in their way : but,
at this rate, that name might be generic and com-
mon to all the iflands of the Grjeat Ocean. In
the fequel, the Ladrone Iflands received the name
of Islas de las Velas, from the great number
of failing-craft v/hich came from thefe iflands to
meet fhips, when they prefented themfelves there
for the purpofe of anchoring. Laftly, towards the
middle of the feventeenth qentury, they changed
their new name for that of the Mary-Anne
Iflands,
4$
marchand's voyage. [Nov; 1791»
Iflands, in honour of Mary-Anne of Austria,
wife of Philip IV.
In 1564, or, according to fome hiftorians, in
1565, Andreas Micuel Lopes Legaspi took
pofleffion of thefe iflands in the name of the crown
of Spain; but he made a fliortftay there, becaufe
.he neither found the conveniences that he could
/defire for a fettlement, nor the riches that could
gratify his cupidity. He employed, to more ad-
vantage, the forces which he commanded, in the
conqueft of Las Philippinas, the iflands named
the Archipelago of San Lazaro* by Magellan,
who difcovered them in continuing his route
towards the eaft, after having crofled his archi-
pelago of Los Ladrones. It is well know^n that
it was in one of thefe iflands that Magellan, a
Portuguefe by birth f, then employed in the fer-
vice of Spain, loft his life, in wifliing to favour,
by the help of his arms, the projeéls of conqueft
of the fovereign of one of thefe iflands, at war
with the fovereign of a neighbouring ifland, both
* This name was given them becaufe Magellan made the dif-
covery of them, and landed on them on the Saturday that pre-
ceded P^o«-Sunday, a day which the Spaniards keep as a feftival
in honour of St* Lazarus^
+ The real name of this celebrated Portuguefe navigator,
employed in the fervice of Spahz when he difcovered the lirait
which bears his name, is Fernando de Macalhaens, of which
the Spaniards who v/ilhed to naturalize him as a Spaniard, made
Hernando Magallanes, and of which the French who wiih
always to tranflate and who often burlefque proper names, have
•oijtrivcd to make Magellan,
of
Nov. 1791-] marchand's voyage.'
4®
of v/hom were one day to pafs, together with their
country, under the domination of another fove-
reign who, at the diftance of fix thoufand leagues,
and without concerning himfelf about them, was
to add their iflands to his vaft domains. The im-
portance of the Philippines had required that the
Spaniards fhould make it their bufmefs to get
pofleffion of them, before they thought of the
Mary-Anne Iflands : after having terminated
the conqueft of the former, they formed there
various fettlements j and particularly that of Ma-
nilla, in the Ifland of Luconia, with which New
Spain, fubdued by the arms, or rather by the
genius of Cortes, forty-five years before, opened
and maintained habitual communications.
The Iflands of Los Ladrones remained forgot-
ten (and it were to be wifhed for the fake of their
inhabitants that they had always been fo I) till the
zeal of a celebrated Jefuit, Santivores, interefted
the devotion of Queen Mary-Anne of Austria,
regent during the minority of her fon Charles 11,
and excited her to caufe the Gopfel to be carried
into thefe iflands, which Magellan had found
means to annex to the fli are of Spain, by difco-
vering a new route, that eluded that ridiculous
line of demarcation by which a pope pretended to
cut the earth in two, in order to divide between
two fovereigns of Europe the exclufive pofleffion
of all the new countries that fliould be difcovered
in the two Worlds,
VOL. II. E In
MARCHANDAS VOYAGË. [NoV. pjç^t.
In i6SS, the Spaniards prefented themfelves at
the Mary-Anne Iflands, with the crofs in one
hand, and the fword in the other j and with thefc
two weapons, which lent each other mutual atdj
their pretended right to the poffefTion of thefc
iflands could not fail to be aclcnowledged. They
had no difficulty in making themfeives mafters of
GuAHAN or GuAHAM, (and Guam by corruption)
the principal of thefe iflands, and the moft fouthern
of the archipelago*} and, by degrees, they fub-
dued all the others.
Our knowledge of the Mary-Anne Iflands vas
derived only from the Spaniih hiftorians and
this knowledge was very imperferfedl ; fome of
them loft nothing by not being better known; but
TiNiAN dcferved to be particularly defcribed, be-
caufe the ufurpers of the archipelago not having
eftablifned themfeives there, and this ifland being
recommendable on account of its fertility, it might
aiford valuable refources to fliips croffing the
Great Ocean between the tropics, from eaft to
weft.
* This archipelago is compofed of nine princi|5al iflands:
Guahauy the moft conuderable and the moft fouthern, is lituated
in latitude i f at its fouth point ; but to the fouthward of this
ifland, alfo lie feveral iflots and rocks, the laft of which extends
fio lower than the eleventh parallel North.
+ Ant. de Herrtray Decad, 3, Lib. 7. et {t^,—Arge7ifola Con^
fîùfia de las ijlas Malucas, Lib r. Gonzales de O-viedo. H'^fi*
nat. de las Indias — Gomara Hijî, gen, de las Indias- — Uliim
Viifge al EJirecho de Magalhanes^ ^ c, page 205 et alibi,
w»
Nov. 1791.] MARCH AND's VOYAGE. ^|
We are indebted to Richard Walter, chap-
lain to Commodore Anson, in his voyage round
the world, for the firft: account that has deferved
the attention of navigators The Commodore
feeking an afylum for his Ihip, which might be
called a floating hofpital, made Tinian, on the
ayth of Oflober 1742, and anchored in an open
bay, fituated at its fouth-weft point : here he pro-
vided without difficulty, without expenfe, and
abundantly, for all the wants of the Centurion :
here her crew recovered quickly from their fa-
tigues : the diforder which, the very day before
her arrival, was carrying off upwards of twenty
men a day, ccafed, as by à miracle; and, in left
than a week, the worft of the flck were fo far
recovered, as to be able to walk without afTift-
ance.
It was natural to celebrate an ifland to which fo
great a number of feamen had owed their lives, to
extol the quality of its animals, the richnefs of its
productions, the variety of its fîtes, the beauty of
its walks, the falubrity of its air, every thing that
could operate a fort of refurredion : and, indeed,
Anson's hiftorian has painted to us Tinian as the
garden of Eden realized. But, if it may be fuf-
pe£led that gratitude has indulged itfelf in exag*
* A Voyage Round the World in the yean 1740, 1741» ^74^1
1743, and 1744, Book HI. Chap. II.
I % ge rating
5-3. MARCHANd's VOYAGE. [NoV-. Ijgi.;;
gerating a little the excellence of this land of pfo-
niife, at lead there can be no doubt of the ocular
hiftorian having reported, with exadnefs, fads con-
cerning which, had his narrative been unfaithful,
five hundred witnefTes, alfo ocular, might have
contradided him: and the comparifon of what
TiNiAN was in Anson's time, with what it is at
this day, prefcnts one of thofe aftonifhing con-
trails which the philofopher cannot fee with indif-
ference, and without tracing back the efFed to its
caufe.
Commodore Anson, who gives to this ifland
twelve miles in length by fix in breadth, found it
uninhabited at the period when he put in there
( 1 742) ; but affiduous culture, regular planta-
tions, fruit-trees in great number and variety,
monuments flill flanding and difpofed in fymme-
trical order, the labour of man fhewing itfelf every
where to aid or embellilh Nature -, all things an-
nounced that, at a period which muft not have
been remote, a numerous population had covered
a land that prefented to the human race fo many
means of fubfiftence, fo much facility for multi-
plying their fpecies. Tinian, in fadt, in a more
happy time, had been very populous, in propor-
tion to its extent, and for the honour of its new
mafters, we would wifli to refufe our belief to the
motive which has completed its ruin. Anson
learnt from a Spaniili ferjeant and fome Indians,
6 , . whom
Nov. lygi, J MARCriANû's voyage. |g
whom he had made prifoners in a proa of which
his boat took pofleffion on going on fliore, that,
fifty years before, the Ifland of Tinian reckoned
upwards of thirty thoufand inhabitants ; and that,
at that time, an epidemical diforder having carried
off the greater part of the inhabitants of the
Mary-Anne Iflands, the barbarous policy of the
ufurpers turned over to the Ifland of Guahan,
where they were fettled, all the Indians whom the
mortality had fpared in Tinian : it unmercifully
tore from a land, covered with the bones of their
fathers, brothers, wives, children, and friends, un-
fortunate beings who had the mortification to fur-
vive their extind families ; it condemned them to
* A Proa, which Europeans call aifo a flymg-proay is a fmall
failing-veffel, remarkable for its aftoniftiing lightnefs, and the
prodigious velocity of its movement, which that of no other
veffel can equal, and which is afferted to be frequently twenty
miles an hour. The ingenious conftruélion of the proa muft giv^
a great idea of the intelligence and induftry of the ancient in-
habitants of the Mary. Anne Iflands, who are the inventors of
it. We find, indeed, in feveral of the iflands of the great
archipelago of Afia and on parts of that continent, fome veflels
which bear a faint refemblance to the prQa\ but we know of
none that can be compared to it for the flmplicity of its con-
Uruftion, the fwiftnefs of its failing, the celerity with which
it is managed, and the readinefs of its evolutions ; and it may
be juftly faid, that the proa is the prototype that has ferved for
other craft of the feas of Afia, which are only the imperfed copy
of the moll perfed model. A very minute defcription of a proa
of the Mary. Anne Iflands, with all the plans reduced to a com-
mon fcale, which can make known its dimenfions, fl:rudure, and
jigging, is to be feen in Anfon^s voyage. Book HI, Chap. V.
water.
54
^archand's voyage. [Nov. tf^i.
water, with the fweat of their brow, a foreign foil.
But cupidity was difappointed in its calculations ;
and thefe deplorable relics of Tinian, with their
eyes inceffantly fixed on their native fhore, died
in defpair. Was it then referved for a nation of
Europe, for a civilized nation, to be the fcourgc
of the two Worlds ? In the New, they exterminate
the human fpecies, in order to tear, from the
bowels of the earth, metals, the objedt of all their
wiflies, which Nature had wifely buried ! And in
the parts of the Old World, which remotenels has
not been able to conceal from their yoke, they
degrade the human fpecies to fuch a degree, as
to drive men from domain to domain, as the far-
mer pens up his cattle on lands which he wiflies to
manure !
The defpair of the inhabitants of Tïnïak will
appear natural to every man who loves his country :
and what a country is Tinian, if, in fa6b, Richard
Walter has given us a faithful piélure of this
idand! It is he himfelf who is going to Ipeak: I
will not weaken his dcfcription: I merely referve
to myfelf the liberty of extrading and abridging,
without confining myfelf always to an uninter-
rupted tranfcript ; but I fliall not take the liberty
of making any change that can affecl the refem-
blance.
" The foil of the Ifland of Tinian,'* fay&
Walter, " is every where dry and healthy, and
being withal fomewhat fandy^ it is theieby the lefs
difpofed
■NoV". 1791.] MarcMand's voyage.
tiifpofed to a rank and over-luxuriant vegetation ;
and hence the meadows and the bottom of the
Woods are much neater and fmoother than is cuf»
tomary in hot climates. The land rofe in gentle
(lopes from the very beach where we watered, to
the middle of the ifland, though the general courfe
of its afcent was often interrupted by vailles of
an eafy defcent, many of which wind irregularly-
through the country. Thefe vailles and the gra*
dual fwellings of the ground, which their different
combinations gave rife to, were moft beautifully
diverfified by the mutual encroachments of woods
and lawns, which coafled each other, and traverfed
the ifland in large trads. The woods confided of
tall and well-fpread trees, the greater part of
them, celebrated either for their afped, or their
fruit: while the lawns were ufually of a confider*
able breadth, their turf quite clean and uniform^
it being compofed of a very fine trefoil, which
was intermixed with a variety of flowers* The
woods too were in many places open and free
from all bufhes and underwood, fo that they ter-
minated on the lawns with a well-defined outline,
where neither fhrubs nor weeds were to be feen ;
but the neatnefs of the adjacent turf was fre-
quently extended to a confiderable diftance, under
the hollow fhade formed by the trees. Hence
arofe a great number of the moft elegant and enter-
taining profpeds, according to the different blend*
mgs of thefe woods and lawns, and their various
E 4 iBter-
56
MARCHAND's VOYAGE. [NoV. I79I.
interfedlions with each other, as they fpread them-
felves differently through the vallies, and over the
flopes and declivities in v>^hich the pj,*ce abounded.
Nor were the allurements of Tinian confined
to the excellency of its landfcapes only -, fince the
fortunate animals which, during the greatefl part
of the year (except, indeed, when the Spaniards
come and diflurb their folicude for the purpofe
of fupplying Guahan with provifions) are the
folc lords of this happy foil, partake, in fome
meafure, of the romantic cafl of the ifland, and
are no fmall addition to its wonderful fcenery : for
the cattle, of which it is not uncommon to fee
herds of fome thoufands feeding together in a large
meadow, are certainly the moft remarkable in the
world ; as they are all of them milk-white, except
their ears, which are generally brown or black.
And though there are no inhabitants here, yet the
clamour and frequent parading of domeflic poul-
try, which range the woods in great numbers,
perpetually excite the idea of the neighbourhood
of farms and villages, and greatly contribute to
the cheerfulnefs and beauty of the place."
" The cattle on Tinian," continues Walter,
we computed were ai leafl ten thoufand * ; we
had
* This number is very confiderable for an ifland which,
according to the account, is not more than four leagues in length
by two leagues in breadth ; for, fuppofing, which is not the
cafe, that it had the figure of a parallelogram (and this is that
InIov. 1791.] M ARC H AND 's VOYAGE.,
had no difficulty in getting near them, for they
were not at all fhy of us. Our firft method of
killing them -was fhoocing them j but, at lafl^
when, by accidents to be hereafter recited, we
were obU2;ed to hulband our ammunition, our men
ran them down with eafe. Their flefh was ex-
tremely well-tailed, and was believed by us to be
much more eafily digefted than any we had ever
m.et with. The fowls too were exceedingly good,
and were likewife run down with little trouble >
for they could fcarce fiy farther than a hundred
yards at a flight, and even that fatigued them to fuch
a degree, that they could not readily rife again ;
fo that, aided by the opennefs of the woods, v/e
could at all times furnifh ourfelves with whatever
number we wanted.
" Befides the cattle and the poultry, we found
here abundance of wild hogs : thefe were moft
excellent food j but as they were a very fierce ani-
of the.greateft furface), its fuperficies would yet be only eight
leagues fquare; but its figure is that of a very elongated ellipfis,
•which is reduced almoft to nothing at the two extremities of its
great axis : and if we dedud from its furface, that of the two
great pieces of water which occupy the middle of the ifland, and
the moft elevated parts of the woody hills, on which it is not
probable that the herds fhould graze, we may reduce the furface
of the ground, on which the cattle found their food, to four fquare
leagues at moft : each league v»^ould then have fed t^vo tho!{fand
five hundred oxen ! ought not alfo fome reduâilon to b€ made
in the thirty thou/and hihah'itants that the Spaniards fuppofed
this illand to contain before its depopulation ?
11" a f.
MARCHANDAS VOYAGÉ. [NoV. iy^ii
ttialj we Were obliged cither to flioot them, or to
hunt them with large dogs, which we found upon
the place at our landing, and which belonged to
the detachment that was then upon the ifland
amafllng provifions for the garrifon of Guahan.
As thefe dogs had been purpofely trained to the
killing of the wild hogs, they followed us very
readily, and hunted for . us ; but though they were
a large, bold breed, the hogs fought with fo much
fury, that they frequently deftroyed them -, whence
we by degrees loft the greateft part of them.
" This place was not only extremely grateful
to us from the plenty and excellence of its frefh
provifions, but was as much, perhaps, to be ad^
mired on account of its fruits and vegetable pro-
du6lions, which were moft fortunately adapted to
the cure of the fea-fcurvy, the difeafe which had
fo terribly reduced us. For in the woods there
were inconceivable quantities of cocoa-nuts, with
the cabbages growing on the fame tree : there were,
be fides, guavoes, limes, fweet and four oranges,
and a kind of fruit peculiar to thefe iflands, called
by the Indians Rhymay^ but by us the bread-fruit,
for it was conftantly eaten by us during our ftay
upon the ifland inftead of bread, and fo univerfally
preferred to it, that no fliip's bread wa^ expended
during that whole interval Bcfides the fruits
already
♦ At the time when Walter wrote, the bread-fruit tree arid
its fruit were little known ; but the voyagers of thefe latter
times
Nov. 179* •] MARCHAtJD*S VOVAGE.
already enumerated, there were many other vege-^
tables extremely conducive to the cure of the ma-
lady we had long laboured under, fuch as water-
melons, dandelion, creeping purflain, mint, fcurvy-
grafs, and forrel -, all which, together with the
frefh meats of the place, we devoured with great
eagernefs, prompted thereto by the ftrong incli-*-
nation which, in fcorbutic diforders. Nature never
fails of exciting for thofe powerful fpecifics.
It will eafily be conceived from what hath
been already faid, that our cheer upon this ifland
was in fome degree luxurious ; but I have not yet
recited all the varieties of provifion which we here
indulged in. Indeed, we thought it prudent
totally to abftain from fifh, the few we caught at
our firft: arrival having furfeited thofe who eat of
them ; but confidering how much we had been
inured to that fpecies of food, we did not regard
this circumftance as a difadvantage, efpecially as
the defe6b was fo amply fupplied by the beef, pork,
and fowls already mentioned, and by great plenty
of wild fowl ; for it is to be remembered, that,
near the centre of the ifland there were two con-
times have defcribed it fo well, that I difpenfe with tranf-
cribing the defcription given of it by An/on' s hiflorian. How*
ever, it might fo happen, that in reading this defcription, a
jiaturalift might perceive fome difference between the bread-fruit
tree of Tinian, and that which is a produdion common to all
the iflands of the Great Ocean fituated between the tropics.
4
fiderable
6o marchand's voyage. [Nov. 1791;
liderable pieces of frefh water, which abounded
with duck, teal, and curlew : not to mention the
whiftling-plover, which we found there in pro-
digious plenty.
Having briefly recounted the conveniences of
this place, the excellence and quantity of its fruits
and provifions, the neatnefs of its lawns, the ftate-
linefs, frefhnefs, and fragrance of its weods, the
happy inequality of its furface, and the variety
and elegance of the views it afforded, I mufl: now
obferve that all thefe advantages were greatly en-
hanced by the healthinefs of the climate, by the
almoft confiant breezes which prevail there, and
by the frequent fhowers which fell ; for thefe, in-
ftead of the heavy, continued rains which, in fome
countries, render great part of the year fo un-
pleafmg, were ufually of very fhort and almoft
momentary duration. Hence they were extremely
grateful and refrefhing; and were, perhaps, one
caufe of the falubrity of the air, and of the ex^^
traordinary influence it was obferved to have upon
us, increafing and invigorating our appetites and
digeftion.
" After giving thefe large encomiums to this
ifland, in which, however, 1 conceive, I have not
done it juftice ; it is neceffary I fhould fpeak o,f
thofe circumftances in which it is defedive, whether
in point of beauty or utility. And firft, with re-
fpe6t to its water, I muft own, that, before I had
feen this fpot, I did not conceive that the abfence
Of
Nov. 1791 •] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE^ 6t
of running water, of which it is entirely deftitutc,
could have been fo well replaced by any other
means, as it is in this ifland -, fmce, though there
are no ftreams, yet the water of the wells and
fprings, which are to be met with every where
near the furface, is extremely good -, and in the
midft of the ifland there are two or three con-
fiderable pieces of excellent water, the turf of
whofe banks was as clean, as even, and as regularly
difpofed, as if they had been bafons purpofely
made for the decoration of the place. It muft,
however, be confefled, that with regard to the
beauty of thej proipeâs, the want of rills and
ftreams is a very great defed, not to be compen-
fated either by large pieces of (landing water, or
by the neighbourhood of the fea, though that,
from the fmallnefs of the ifland, generally makes
a part of every extenfive landfcape.
" As to the refidence upon the ifland, the prin-
cipal inconvenience attending it is the vail num-
bers of mufkitoes, and various other fpecies of
flies, together with an infed called a tick j this,
though principally attached to the cattle, would
yet frequently fallen upon our limbs and bodies,
and, if not perceived and removed in time, would
bury its head under the fkin, and raife a painful
inflammation. We found here too centipedes and
fcorpions, which we fuppofed were venomous,
though none of us ever received any injury from
them.
" But
6 s MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [NoV. 179t.
" But the mott important and formidable ex-
ception to this place remains ftill to be told.
This is the inconvenience of the road, and the
little fecurity there is, in fome feafons, for a (hip
at anchor. The only proper anchoring-place for
fhips of burden is at the fouth-weft end of the
ifland ; the peak of Saypan, feen over the northern
part of Saypan, and bearing north-north-eaft half
caft, is a direction for readily finding it -, the an-
choring place is then eight miles diftant. Here
the Centurion anchored in twenty~tv;o fathoms
"water, about a mile and a half from the fhore,
oppofite to a fandy bay. The bottom of this road
is full of ftiarp-pointed coral rocks, which, during
four months of the year, that is, from the middle
of June to the middle of OBohery render it a very
unfafe anchorage. This is the feafon of the weftern
monfoons, when, near the full and change of the
moon, but more particularly at the change, the
wind is ufually variable all round the compafs,
and feldom fails to blow with fuch fury, that the
ftouteft cables are not to be confided in. What
adds to the danger at thefe times, is the exceffive
rapidity of the tide of flood which fets to the fouth-
caft, between this iOand and that of Aguigan, a
fmall iflot near the fouthern extremity of Tinian,
which, in the galleon's chart, is reprefcnted only
by a dot. This tide runs at firft with a vaft head
and overfall of water, occafioning fuch a hollow
and overgrown fea, as is fcarcely to be conceived ;
fo
NoV^ 1791-] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE, 63
fo that we were under the dreadful apprehcnfion
of being pooped by it, though we were in a fixty
gun ùiïp. In the remaining eight months of the
year, that is, from the middle of OEloher to the
middle of Jme^ there is a confiant Teafon of fet-
tled weather; when, if the cables are but well
armed, there is fcarcely any danger of their being
even rubbed ; fo that during all that interval, it
is as fecure a road as could be wifhed for. I jQiall
only add, that the anchoring bank is very flielving,
and ftretches along the fouth-weft end of the ifland,
and is entirely free from Ihoals, except a reef of
rocks which is vifible, and lies about half a mile
from the fliore, affording a narrow paffage into a
fmall fandy bay, which is the only place where
boats can pofTibly land*."
Such was the Ifland of Tinian, when Commo^
dore Anson quitted it towards the end of the
month of Odtober 1742. The only fault that çould
then be found with it, was, that it afforded no
harbours, no roadftead where fhips could anchor
in fafety ; and it fcems that Nature, who had
beflowed every thing on the land of this favoured
ifland, was determined to refufc every thing to
the fea that wafhes its coaft : for it has been feea
that the fifh there is not good, and the anchorage
is no better. Twice had the Centurion her
cables cut by the fhàrp coral rocks, with which
* AnfQttU Va^agey Book III. Chap, II.
the
64
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [NoV. î/pi*
the bottom is ftrewn ; twice was fhe driven out
to Tea; and it was not without much difficulty that
file could regain her anchorage, to the very great
fatisfadlion of that part of her officers and crew,
which had been left on fhore by fo precipitate and
neceffary a departure.
I have not (lopped to defcribe thofe ancient
monuments which were found in the iOand, thofe
double lymmetrical rows of fquare pyramidal pil-
lars, meafuring about five feet at the bafe and
thirteen feet in heighu, each furmounted by a femi-
globe, with the flat furface upwards, and which, at
a diftance, prefents the appearance of a large bowl.
Of thefe, a defcription may be read, and a draw-
ing feen, in Richard Walter's narrative Ac-
cording to the account of the Spanifli prifoners,
thefe pillars muft have belonged to fome Indian
monafteries, and this particularity would alone be
fufficient to atteft the ancient population of 'the
ifland : in all the countries of Asia, the monks
cftablifli themfelves wherever numbers of inhabi-
tants can feed their idlenefs ; and they mufl: needs
have been very numerous on Tin i an, for there
* The pillars and the femi-globes by which they were fur-.
mounted, were folid, and formed of a compofition of ftone and
fand, covered with plafter ; but as the voyagers who vifited
'Thtifm 2 2 years after the voyage of Anfo7iy make no mention
of them, we muft fuppofe that, in this ^interval, time reduced
them to duft. However, when in 1765, Byroii caufed the Ifland
cf ^î^/rf/^ to be vifited, x\iQ, Tamar' s people there found pillars
fimilar to thofe of Timapy and which were ftill ftanding.
is
NoVi 1791 -] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE*
65
is no part of the ifland on which Anson did not
meet with fome of thefe decorations of pyramidal
pillars. And how fhould men, addided to con-
te mplation, not have abounded in a country where
Nature, rich and beautiful, affords eternal verdure,
fites pi6lurefque and diverfified, trees loaded with
blofToms and fruits, meadows enamelled with
odoriferous flowers, woods whofe facred fliade in-
vites to meditation and feems to command filence j
a country, in fhort, where the beauty of the
climate, mà'. thc falubrîty of the air, remove
difeafes, and retard the fatal period in which every
thing is confounded ?
It is with regret that we are going to quit
Anson's Tinian, in order to fix our eyes on the
TiNiAN of which the navigators of thefe latter
times have drawn us the picture. Both, no doubt,
have painted what they faw; and of this fadt
we mufl be certain, to believe that, within the
lapfe of barely four luftres, the face of every thing
has been changed*
Commodore Bvron put into Tinian on the
of July 1765, ànd anchored in the fame
road, fituated near the fouth-weft point, which
Commodore Anso^ had occupied twenty-one
jrcars and a half before. Impatient to contem-
plate thofc ravifhing fcenes, thofe vaft meadows
enamelled with flowers where herds of cattle of
a dazzlbg whitenefs feed at liberty -, impatient
to breathe, with a pure air, that delicious per-
voL. II, F fume
66 marchand's voyage. [Nov. 1791-
fume exhaled by the odoriferous produ6tlons of
the earth, " as foon as the ihip was fecured," fays
thé Commodore ; I went on fhore to fix upon
a place where tents might be erefled for the
fick. We found feveral huts which had been left
by the Spaniards the year before j for this year
none of them had as yet been at the place, nor
was it probable that they would come for fome
months, the fun being almoft vertical, and the
rainy feafon fet in. After I had fixed upon a fpoc
for the tents/' continues the Comniodore, fix
or feven of us endeavoured to pufh through the
woods, that we might come at the beautiful lawns
and meadov/s of which there is fo luxuriant a
defcriprion in the account of Lord Anson's Voyage,
and, if poffible, kiii ibmc catde. The trees flood
fo thick, and the place was fo overgrown with
underwôod, that we could not fee three yards
before us 5 we therefore were obliged to keep
contintially hallooing to each other, to prevent
our being feparately loft in this tracklefs wilder-
nefs. As the weather was intolerably hot, we had
nothing on befides our (hoes, except our fhirts
and trowfers, and thefe were, in a very fhort time,
torn all to rags by the bufhes and brambles : at
laft, however, with incredible difficulty and labour
we got through -, but, to our great furprife and
difappointmentj we found the country very differ-
ent from the account we bad read of it: the
lawns were entirely overgrown with a ilubborn
kind
Nov. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE,
kind of reed or brufh, in many places higher
than our heads, and no where lower than our
middles, which cCntinually entangled our legs, and
cut us like whipcord. During this march wc
were alfo coveï'ed with flies from head to foot;
and, whenever we offered to fpeak, we were fure
of having a mouthful, many of which never failed
to get down our throats. After we had walked
about three or four miles, we got fight of a bull,
Vvhith we killed, and, a little before night, we
got back to the beach, as wet as if we had been
dipt ill water, and fo fatigued that we were fcarcely
able to ftand. We immediately fent out a party
to fetch the bull, and found that, during our
cxcurfion, fome tents had been got up, and the
fick brought on fhore.
The next day our people were em.ployed in
fetting up more tents, getting the water-cafks
on (bore, and clearing the Well at which they
were to be filled. This well I imagined to be
the fame that the Centurion Watered at; but it
was the word that we had met with during the
voyage, for the water was not only brackifli, but
full of worms. The road alfo where the fhrps
lay was a dangerous fituation at this ftaibn ; for
the bottom is hard fand and large coral rocks,
and the anchor having no hold in the fand, is in
perpetual danger of being cut to pieces by the
coral ; to prevent which as much as pofiible,
I rounded the cables/ and buoyed them up with
F 2 empty
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Nov. 17^ î.
empty watcr-caflcs. Another precaution alfo was
taught me by experience ; for at firft I moored^
but finding the cables much damaged I refolved
to lie fmgle for the future, that by veering away
or heaving in, as we fhould have more or lefs
wind, we might always keep them^ from being
flack, and confequently from rubbing ; and this
expedient fucceeded to my wifh. At the full and
change of the moon, a prodigious l\vell tumbles
in, fo that I never faw fhips at anchor roll fo
much as ours did while we lay here ; and it once
drove in from the weftward with fuch violence,
and broke fo high upon the reef that I was obliged
to put to fcd, for a week ; for, if our cable had
parted in the night, and the wind had been upon
the fhorey which fbmetimes happens for two or
three days together, the iTiip muft inevitably have
been loft upon the rocks.
I foon found that the ifland produced limes,,
four oranges, cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, guavas, and
paupaws* in great abundance j but we found no
water-melons, fcurvy-grafs,. or forreL
" Notwithftaiiding the fatigue and diftrefs that
we had endured, and the various climates we had
pafled through, neither of die ihips (the Dolphin
* It appears that the fweet orange was no longer to be found-
in the ifland, in Bjrofi's time, for he does not fpeak of it;, but
he found there the papaw, of which no mention is made in ^«/««'i:
narrative: have the Spaniards conveyed thither the papaw-
tree.?
andi
Nov. 1791.] mauchand's voyage. -6:^
and the TAMAR), had yet loft a fingk man fince
their failing from England ; but, while we lay
here, two died of fevers, a difeafe with which many
were feized, though we all recovered very faft from
the fcurvy. I am, indeed, of opinion that this is
one of the moft unhealthy fpots in the world, at
leaft during the" feafon in which we were here.
The rains were violent, and almoft inceffant, and
the heat was fo great as to threaten us with fufFo-
cation.
" Befides the inconvenience which we fufFered
from the weather, we were incelTantly tormented
ty the flies in the day, and by the mufkitoes
in the night. The ifland alfo fwarms with cen-
tipedes and fcorpions, and a large black ant,
fcarcely inferior to either in the malignity of its
bitee Befides thefe, there were venomous infeds
without number, altogether unknown to us, by
which many of us fuffered fo feverely that we were
afraid to lie down in our beds 5 nor were thofo
on board in a much better fituation than thofd
on fhore, for great numbers of thcfe creatures
being carried into the fliip with the wood, they
took pofTeffion of every birth, and left the poor
feamen no place of reft either below or upon the
deck.
As foon as we were fettled in our new ha-
bitations, I fent out parties to difcovcr the haunts
of the cattle, fome of which were found, but at
a great diftance from the tents, and the beaft^î
F 3 - were
7© marchand's voyage. [Nov. 1791.
were fo fhy that it was very difficult to get a
Ihot at them. Some of the parties which, when
• their haunts had been difcovered, were Tent out to
kill them, were abfent three days and nights before
they could fuccced ; and when a bullock had been
dragged feven or eight miles, through fuch woods
and lawns as have juft been defcribed, to the tents,
it was generally full of fly-blows, and dunk fo
as to be unfit for ufe : nor was this the worft, for
the fatigue of the men in bringing down the carcafs,
and the intolerable heat they fuffered from the
climate and the labour, frequently brought on
fevers which laid them up. Poultry, hov/ever, we
procured on eafier terms : there was great pircnty
of birds, and they were eafily killed ; but the flefli
of the beft of them was very ill-tafted ; and fuch
was the heat of the climate that, within an hour
after they were killed, it was as green as grafs,
and fwarmed with maggots. Our principal refort
for frefh meat, was the wild hog, with which the
ifland abounds. Thefe creatures are very fierce,
and fome of them fo large that a carcafs frequently
weighed two hundred pounds. We killed them
without much difficulty, but a black belonging to
the Tamar contrived a method to fnare them, fo
that we took great numbers of them alive, which
was an unfpcakable advantage; for it not only in-
fured our eating the flefh while it was fweet, but
enabled us to fend a good number of them on
board as fea-ftores.
Nov. 1791.] Marchandas voyage, 71
" In the mean time/* adds the Commodore,
we were very defirbus of procuring fome beef
in an eatable ftate, with lefs rifk and labour ;
and Mr. Gore, one of our mates, at laft difco-
verèd a pleafant fpot upon the north- weft part
of the ifland, where cattle were in great plenty,
and whence they might be brought to the tents
by fea. To this place therefore I difpatched a party,
with a tent for their accommodation, and fent the
boats everyday to fetch what they fhould kills
fometimcs, however, there broke fuch a fea upon
the rocks that it was impofîible to approach them,
and the Tamar's boat unhappily loft three of her
beft men in attempting it. We were now, upon
the whole, pretty well fupplied with provifions,
efpecially as we baked frcfti bread every day for
the fick J and the fatigue of our people being lefs,
there were fewer ill with the fever : but feveral of
them were fo much difordercd by eating of a
very fine looking fifh which we caught here, that
their recovery was for a long time doubtful. The
author of the account of Lord Anson's voyage
fays that the people on board the Centurion
thought it prudent to abftain from fi{h, as the ftw
which they caught on their firft arrival furfeited
thofe who eat of them. But not attending fuffi-
cicntly to this caution, and too haftily taking the
word Jurfeit in its literal and common acceptation,
we imagined that thofe who tafted the tifli when
Lord Anson firft came hither, were made fick by
F 4 ' merely
MARCHANP'S VOYAGE. [Nov. I79I.
merely eating too much; whereas^ if that had
been the cafe, there would have been no reafon
for totally abftaining afterwards^, but only eating
temperately. We, however, bought our know-
ledge by experience, which we might have had
cheaper; for, though all our people who tafted
this fifh, eat fparingly, they were all foon after-
wards dangeroufly ill.
*^ Befides the fruit that has been mentioned
already, this ifland produces cotton and indigo iq
abundance, and would certainly be of great value
if it was fituated in the West Indîçs*.'*
Such was the ftate in which the Ifland of Tini^n
prefented itfelf to Commodore Byron, during th«
{lay that he made there in 1765, from the 31ft of
July to the ift: of Odober.
Captain Wallis, who vifited it in the month
of September 1767, draws of it a pidure neither
more flattering, nor better calculated for retracing
to us the charms of the Tinian defcribed by Com-
modore Anson. He fays, however, that the
hunters, whom he had fent out on the day of his
arrival, brought in a fine young bull of near four
hundred weight: and that in this place he got
beef, pork, poultry, papaw-apples, bread-fruit,
limes, oranges, and every refrefhment that is men-
tioned in the account of Lord Anson's voyage;
* See Hauukepworth^s Comfilatm^ Vol. I, p. 116 and
following.
but
Nov. 179 !•] MARCH AN d's VOYAGE.
73
but that fîefii meat could be fcareelykept fweet
one day. There had been many cocoa-nut trees
near the landing-place,'* continues he s " but they
had been all waftefully cut down for the fruit, and
none being grown up in their ftead, we were forced
to go three miles into the country before a fingle
nut could be procured. The hunters alfo fufFered
confiderable fatigue j for they were frequently
obliged to go ten or twelve miles through one
continued thicket, and the cattle were fo wild that
it was very difficult to come near them j fo that
I was obliged to relieve one party by another;
and it being reported that cattle were more plenty
at the North end of the ifland, but that the hunters
being quite cxhaufted with fatigue, when they got
thither, were not able to kill them, much lefs to
bring them down, I fent Mr. Gore, with fourteeri
men, to cftablilh themfelves in that part of the
iOand, and ordered that a boat fhould go every
morning, at day-break, for what they fhould
killV
In addition to the refrefhments before-men-
tioned, Captain Wallis obtained an ample ftock
of limçs, which he appropriated to the wants of
his people.
Captain Portlock, who, on the 4th of Oftober,
1787, crofled the Archipelago of the Mar An ne
* Ha^ke/woorth' 5 Comfilaùon* Vol, I, Walîh's Voyage^
Chapter XI. page 279.
Iflands
74
marchand's voyage. [Nov,, lygt.
Iflands between Tinian and Say pan, fays that, in
the plains of the former, he obferved a number
of white animals grazing, which he fuppofed to
be the white cattle that, in Lord Anson's Voy-
age, are faid to be fo common there ; but he
reconnoitred the ifland only at a diftance, and could
not judge of its prefent state*.
Captain Gilbert, commanding the fhip Char-
î,OTTE, pafTed the beginning of the month of
Auguft 1788, at the anchorage of Tinïan i he
would have been well pleafed to find there the
terrcllrial paradife reprefentcd in Anson's voyage ;
but he found only the wild country of which
Byron has drawn us fo hideous a pi6lure : his
account is as as follows : From the obfervations
I was able to make, during my fhort ftay at this
iQand, the defcription given by Captain Wall is
fecms to corrcfpond the neareft with the prefent
flate of it. The ground was overgrown wiih
underwood, and the cattle did not appear to be
by far fo plenty as defcribed in Anson's voyage.
The well, at which Lord Anson watered, was dry ;
and as for the numerous fprings there fpoken of,
few of them fell in my way. The neareft water
to the landing-place lay too far off for me to
receive any benefit from it, in the prefent debilita-
ted ftate of the Ihip's company, Anrong the tree$
I obferved gteat numbers of the cotton-tree, in
♦ Portkck's Foyagây p. 3 1 7.
4 full
Nov. 1791.] marchand's voyage. 7^
full bloom ; and fell in with a village^ the huts of
which appeared to have been for fomc time de-
ferted. However, the little tirne I was there, I
got great abundance of cocoa-nuts, cabbages,
bread-fruit, wild hogs, fowls, &c. &c. I faw large
herds of white cattle, but was not able to manag,ç
any of them, except a few of their calves*."
Like Commodore Anson, Captain Gilbert
experienced the danger of the roadflead : the
Charlotte, and the Scarborough which an-
chored there near her, were forced, in a gale of
wind, to cut their cables, and put to feaf.
I obferve
* Voyage from Ne'w South Wales io Canton, in the year
1788. By Thomas Gilbert. London, 1789. pages 66 and 67.
+ In recapitulating what is reported of the road and an-
chorage in the diiFerent journals, to which we refer the reader
for farther particulars, it appears :
That, on the 2 2d of September, 1742, the Centurion parted
two cables and was driven to fea, dragging with her a third
anchor, which (he had let go on the edge of the bank ; and
that Ihe could not regain the road till the i ith of Odober.
That, on the 14th of Oclober, being but the third day
after her arrival, a fudden gale of wind, brought home her
anchor, forced her off the bank, and drove her to fea a fécond
time; and (he was five days before (he could return to her
anchorage.
That, in the beginning of Auguft, 1768, the wefterly fwell
forced Byron to get under way ; and that he could not take up
the anchorage again for a week.
That, on the 8ih of Auguft, 1788, the Charlotte and the
Scarborough were forced to cut their cables, and put to fea.
But An/on affirms that, during eight months of the year, that
is, from the middle of Oélober to the middle of June, there is
a conftan
marchand's voyage. [Nov. 1791.
I obferve that, among the large trees which
Gilbert saw at-TiNiANy he dillinguiflied a great
number of cotton-trees, and that they were in
full bl'offom : we have feen that in 1765, Byron
had already found there the cotton-tree, together
with the indigo-tree. It cannot be doubted that
this ifland would have been very fertile, and that
it would have been "very eafy to naturalize there
the ufeful produ6lions of both In pies, if the right
of conqueft had fubjeded it to other mailers
thah' the Spaniards : but the latter, incapable of
cultivating, with their own hands, every part
of tii-e earth of which they have declared them-
felves the proprietors, have too frequently, by
a policy no lefs inhuman than contrary to their
true interefts,. dçflroyed or difperfed, the real pro-
^prktors, the original cultivators, who; alone -can
^compenfate for the infufiiciency of the con-.
<juerors.
Captain Sever, commanding, the Ship .Lady
Penrhyn, touched at Tinian, in the month of
September 1788. He confirms all that Com-
tTiodorc Byron and Captain Walus have reported
of the prefent fituation of this iOand ; but although
— ^ ^ . 1' ", ' : — ~~
a confiant feafon of fettled weather, and that, . "jsrbvide^ . the cables
be but well arnjed, or buoyed up, there is little danger of their
being rubbed ; in fhc^rt, during thefe eight months,' the road on
the fouth-weft end of the ifland of Ti?:la}i is, he adds, as fecure
a road as could be wiflied for.
he
Nov. 1791-3 MARCHAND'S VOYAGE, 77,-
hc landed there at the fame time of the year as
the latter, he found the feafon very backward ;
moft of the fruits were not arrived at their point
of maturity : however, he procured two oxen, a
wild hog, and, a dozen of fowls
When we have read the two defciipcions of
TiNiAN, which both, no doubt, equally merit our
confidence, from the well-founded opinion of the
veracity of the voyagers by whom they were
written, we cannot avoid being llruck with afto--
jnifhrnent, on examining the ravages which time^
whofe hand is not always flow, has been able to
ifommit in an interval that does not amount to
the fourth of a century. Behold Tin i an in 1742;,
divided between fmiling plains and iloping hills^
crowned with woods whole tall trees growing m
rows, at regular diflances, and cleared of barren
and obftru6ling fhrubs, leave to the air a free cir<-
culation, which permits it to purify itfelf in its
courfe ; behold it decked out v/ith all the gifts
of the creation^ which the colouring of the painter
has, if you pleafc, embelliihed, but th^ features
of which he has given -, and return to Tînian
in 1765 : you will fee withered rufhes, melancholy
heaths, and prickly brambles, occupy in its plains;,
now become waftes, the places which were covered
by verdant trefoil, falutary herbs, lîfeful plant^:,
I ■
* See Tlye Voyage of Go'vernor PhiTip fa- Bofmj Bm^, ^.c>.
Londan^ 1789, 410. page 24.5.
iîÀRCHAND's VOYAGÉ. [Nov. Ifgt»
and odoriferous flowers : feek on thofe lawns the
numerous herds which conftituted their ornament
and richnefs, and on which à fecundified land
lavifhed food ever- reviving : at this day, a hideous,
briftling, impaffable bur repels them, and denies
them fubfiftence : attempt to penetrate into thefe
woods ^ thick bri^irs^ ftubborn and flrong grafs
prohibit you from entering them; parafitical
■lianes*, intertwined and intermingled, ftretch their
tendrils from one tree to another, and intercept
all communication 3 a foil, on which the down
of the enamelled mofs extended into the very
heart of the clumps, is now only the impure afylum
of centipedes, fcorpions, and all the venomous
infe6ls which live and generate their poifon in
the rubbifti of vegetation: there no longer remains
* L'tanesi winding like ivy, run up the large trees which
they meet with; and, there arc fome whith, _ after having
reached the tallell branches, throw out tendrils which fall again
prependicularly, bury themfelves in the ground, there fake frefii
root, and rife again, afcending and defcending alternately.
Other filaments borne obliquely by the wind^ or by fome
accident, frequently fallen on the neighbouring trees, and form
either an impenetrable foreft, or a confufion of cords hanging
in every direétion, which prefent to the eye the fame afpeéi
as the running rigging of a Ihip. There are lia?ies as thick
as the arm ; fome, by dint of clafping the tree which they
embrace, finifh by choking it. Sometimes it happens that the
tree dries while (landing, rots, and entirely decays, and that .
there remain only the fpirals of the llane, which form
fort of twifted column, infulated and perforated, which art
would find much difficulty in imitating," /^vSee Bomare's D 'td*
d< Hiji^ ^at, at the word Llane.J
of
Nov. 1791 •] Marchand's voyage.
of the former Titian any of the charms which
occafioned to be overlooked the importunity of
its gnats/ the noxious quality of its fifhcs, and the
dangers of its roadftead : the fourth of a century
has been fufEcient for efFefting all thefe changes !
This contraft of two pictures fo different from
each other, that, in comparing them, we have
fome difficulty in perfuading ourfelves that the
voyagers meant to delineate the fame ifland \ this
contrail, I fay, leads us back to the obfervation,
depofited in his immortal work by the fublime
philofopher, whofe bold genius, traverfing the
obfcurity of time, and hovering over fpace in order
to aid creation, would have divined Nature, had
Nature chofen to be divined, and who has at leaft
marked out to us the track, which fhc might
have followed, if it be not, in faft, the track which
flie has followed.
" Man,'* fays BqPfon, ^^mafter of the domain
of the earth, has changed and renewed its
" whole furface, and at all times has ihared the
empire with Nature. However, he reigns only
" by right of conqued ; he enjoys rather than
pofTefTes; he preferves only by unremitting
" care ; if that ceafc,every thing languifhes, every
" thing changes, every thing returns under the
" hand of Nature ; flic refumes her rights, effaces
" the works of Man, and leaves him nothing but
the regret of having loft, through his own
" negU-
• maHchand's Voyagé. [Nov. 1791,
" negligence^ what his anceftors had conquered by
" their labours=^/'
This digre/Tion has made us lofe fight of the
Solide ; it is time to rejoin her, that we may fol-
low her in her route to Macao.
After having crofled the archipelago of the
Marv-Anne Iflands, Captain Marchand fteered
between weft-north-wefl and weft by north, in
order to make the fouth point of the Ifland of
Formosa.
The obfervations for the longitude made on
the 1 6th of November in the morning, placed the
£hip, at noon on that day, in 122'' 6' eaft from
Paris -, and her obfervecl latkude was 21^ 34' north.
This pofition afforded taptain Marchand the
hope, that, on the following day, he would get
fight of the land. It appeared, in fa<5l, the next
morning at half paft feven o'clock, and he diftin-
guifhed the Iflands of Botel Tab ago XiMAf,
fituated at the di^^^D^e of about five leagues from
the fouth point of Formosa, and on the lame
parallel : the large ifland is a high land which may
be perceived, in clear weather, eighteen or twenty
leagues. At half paft nine o'clock, the largeft of
thefe iflands bore from weft half north to weft by
north, and the fmall ifland, weft half fouth, dif-
tant about twelve leagues.
* Hi/f, Nat, V^^ Vue de la Nature,
•f According to Alexa7ider Dalrymple ; and according
others, Bo^tel or Battel, Tabaco Xima, or Tàba^o Xima; and
Tabaco-Jtm'a, according to B^Anville*
1 At
Nov. MARCHANd's VOYAGE. 8l
At half pad: five o'clock in the afternoon, at
the moment when the eaftern extremes of both
the BoTEL Iflands bore, in one with each other,
north by weft, was perceived to the weft by north
the fouth point of the Ifland of Formosa. This
part of the ifland prefents a land of a remarkable
height, which is to be perceived at the diftance
of twenty or even twenty-two leagues.
On the 1 8th, at noon, the Solide had left this
point to the eaft-north-eaft half north, at the
diftance of about four leagues and a half, and was
ftanding on for Macao.
Captain Chanal, according to the obfervations
of Captain Marchand, and his own, combined
with various bearings taken of the land, has endea-
voured to fix the geographical pofitions, both ab-
folute and relative, of the Botel Iflands, of the
fouth point of Formosa, and of Vele-Rete, a
very dangerous flioal, lying in the track of fhips
coming from the Great Ocean to the northward
of the Bash EE Iflands* As the pofitions given by
Captain Chanal do not all agree with thofe
which have been employed by Alexander Dal-
RYMPLE, in his Chart of the China Sea y publiflied
in 1771; by La Pe'rouse, in the journal of his
voyage and in his chart by George Robertson,
in l^is large Chart of the China Sea^ which appeared
in 1791, and in his Table of Pcfttions^ which makes
part of the Memoir that accompanies the chart and
ferves as a foundation for it j I have thought it
VQL. II* G incum-
§2
marchand's voyage. [Nov. 1791.
incumbent on me to report them as given by each,
to the end that navigators who may have an oppor-
tunity of making obfcrvations in fight of the fame
points, may the more eafily verify the different
pofitions, and decide which merit the preference.
According to the obfervations and the bearings
taken on board of the Solide in fight of the land :
The great Ifland of Botel Tabago-Xima, at
its fouth-eaft point, is fituated in 22"^ 3' north lati-
tude, and 119° 34 eaft longitude*. This ifland
is fufficiently elevated to be perceived, in clear
weather, at the diftance of fifteen leagues : it may
be four or five leagues in circumference. The
fires which were feen blazing during the night left
no doubt of its being inhabited, at leaft in a tem-
porary manner, by fifliermen, if, hovv/ever, it have
not inhabitants who make it their confiant refi-
dence. *
* According to Dalrymples Chart Lat. Long.
8° 15 from M<^r^<3 which is fitu- » ' " o ' "
ated (Note LX) in 1 1 1° 15'. . . . 22 6 30 .. 1 19 30 00
According t) the obfervations of La
Pe'ron/e 21 57 OO .. 1 19 32 03
According to Chanal, the middle of
the ifland, 22° 4' and 1 19* 3/ j
and in taking away i minute from
the latitude, and adding 1 min. to
the longitude, in order to reduce
them to the fouth-cafl: point of the
ifland 22 3 00 4,. 1 19 34 oO
According to G. R6ber//o?i, in his
Table of Pofitions 22 6 od ,. 119 21 45
• But,
Nov* 1791-] marchand's voyage.
83
Bur, in order not to fuffer the opinion of fea-
men to waver/ I think I may venture to take the
liberty of here anticipating on the publication of
La Petrous e's voyage, for the purpofe of adding
that the ifland is inhabited, that it even appears
well peopled, fince La Pë'rouse, on approaching
very near to it, diflinguifiied three villages within
the fpace of a league.
The fmall ifland of the fame name lies to the
fouth by eaft of the great one^i its latitude is
21"^ 57', and its longitude 119"^ 3^' It is fome-
v/hat lefs elevated than the great ifland, but how-
ever fufficiently fo to be feen ten or twelve
leagues.
The paflage between thefe two iflands nnay be
four or five miles in width : the channel and both
fliores appeared equally free from rocks or flioals.j
The fouth-weft point of the Ifland of Formosa
may be placed in latitude 21° 54', according to
* On the parallel of the middle of the great ifland, according
to Dalrymple's chart, and on the parallel of its fouth-eaft point,
according to that of La Ftroufe,
Lat. Long.
+ According to Dalrymple's Chart, o / // o / //
in 8® 22' eaft from Af«r^<? 22 7 oo . . 119 27 00
According to La Peroufe, from his
difference of meridian in regard to
the great ifland, taken on his
chart, 5 min. more to the eaft-
ward 21 57 00 . . iig 57 oa
According to Chanal (as above) , . 21 57 00 1 19 36 00
c 2 ' that
84
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [NoV.
that of the fhip obferved on the i8th at noon, in
21^ 48^ and according to the bearing, which placed
this point 6 minutes more to the northward than
the fliip : its longitude is about ii8° 40"*.
The Vele-Rete fhoal lies to the fouth 4 or 5"^
weft of the fouth point of Formosa, towards the
latitude of 21° 45', and longitude of 118*^ 39' f.
Thefe rocks are even with the water^s edge, and
cannot be perceived at more than two leagues'
diftance. A lliip muft borrow on the point of the
I (land of Formosa," which is fafe, clofer than on
LaK Long.
* According to Dalrymple's chart o / // o » '/
7*^ 19' to the eaft ward of Macao 22 2 30 .. I18 34
According to that of La Ptroii/et 5^
min. more to the northward, and
52 min. lefs to the eaft ward than
the fouth-eaft point of the Great
Bote! 22 2 00 118 40 00
According to Chatial (as above).. 21 54 00 . . ri8 40 00
Robert/on' s Memoir (in his Table of
Pofitions) 22 6 00 .. 118 49 45
+ According to Dahympie's chart
7° 21' 20" to the eaft of Macao., 21 48 00 1 18 36 3®
According to that of La Pc'roufey 3
min. lefs to the northward, and 40
min, lefs to the eaftward than the
fouth-eaft point of the Gr^-^z/J^o/^/ 21 49 00 .. 118 52 00
According to Chanal (as above) 2 1 45 00 . . 1 18 39 00
According to Robert/on 21 45 00 , . 1 1 8 47 45
the
Nov. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOVAGE.
85
the flioal, to which it is prudent to give a good
birth *.
On the i8th of November, in fight of the
fouth-weft point of the Ifland of Formosa, I ftop
the calculation of the Solide*s run from the Sand-
wich Iflands to Macao.
In deducing the longitude of this point from
that of the fouth-eaft point of the Great Botel
Tabago-Xima, which is determined by the ob-
férvations of La Pe'rouse, we find that the former
muft be 118° 40' j and according to the bearing
taken at noon of the i8th, the lliip was, with re-
fpe6l to the fouth-wefl point of Formosa, i2-|
minutes lefs to the eaftward than the point: her
longitude mufl: therefore have been 118"^ 27' 40'^
* G. Rohertfon in his Memoir of a Chart of the China Sea^
P^ge 33, gives an extrail fronj the Journal of the Royal Captahii
which prefents a few details refpecting the Vele-Rete Shoal.
" On the 23d of Oftober 1762, at 9 A. M. faw the Rock
" Vèle-Rete bearing weft by north ; at nôon, it bore north z\
leagues : it feems environed with rocks, extending a mile or
" tv/o round it, on which the fea breaks very high : I judge its
diftance from the fouth part of Formoja to be 5 or 6 leagues ;
and, appearing very fmall, it \% not to be feen above 3 or 4
leagues in clear weather. When this rock bore north-well by
<^ north, we perceived the water difcoloured ; but in half an
hour it changed its hue to a fea-colour.
" Latitude obferved 21° 38' north.
" Ditto of the rock 21° 45' north.'*
Since Vele-Rete is in latitude 21° 45', nearly fouth of thje
fouth point of Fermofai and fmce this point lies in about 22°,
the v/idth of the pafTage between the ifland and the flioal muft
^^e 15 miles or 5 leagues,
G 3 But
86
MARCHAND s VOYAGE. [NoV. l'/gîn
But on the i6th at noon, the longitude of the
Solide deduced from the obfervations was 122*^6^5.
and, from the 1 6th to the i8th, the progrefs by
account towards the weft had been 3° 43' : thus
her longitude on the i8th was ii8'^32'. It is
feen that it differs from the true only by 4 minutes^
or about a league and a quarter * : and the dif-
ference mii-:^ht have been more confiderable, with-
out our navigators being juftified in imputing it
to the obfervations of^the i6thj fince they were
obliged to employ the dead reckoning for the
forty-eight hours elapfed between the i6th and
the J 8th.
If, at prefent, AVe wifh to find the error of the
reckoning on the whole of the run, we have only
to compare the difference of longitude indicated
by the dead reckoning between the point of de-
parture on the 7th of October and the point ar-
rived at on the j8th of November, with the true
difference deduced from the obfervations which
have fixed the pofition of thefe two extreme
points.
The true difference of longitude is 83° 3' f 5 the
* See Note LVIII.
+ Longitude of the point of departure in fight of 0-Whjhee,
on the 7th of Oftober, 158° 29' nveji — Longitude of the point
arrived at in fight of the fouth-weft point of the Ifland of
Formo/ay on the i8th of November (as above) 1 18° 28' ^«7/?.
Difference of longitude 83° 3', (See the Journal of the Route
at the 7th of October and at the i8th of November, and Nôte
LVIIL)
difference
Nov. 1791-] marchand's voyage.
87
difference given by the dead reckoning is 76"^ 44'
The latter is therefore fmaller than the former by
6° 19', which, on th^ parallel of the point arrived
at, anfwer to a little more than one hundred and
feventeen leagues.
If we divide this fum of the partial errors of
the reckoning, by the number of days of the run,
that is to fay, by 41$, we fhall have for the mean
error in twenty-four hours, 8t^ miles: and the
quantity of this error confirms a remark which we
have reafon to make in reading the journals of
navigators j this is, that in crofTing the Great
Ocean between the tropics, the general current
of the waters, from eaft to weft, carries fhips to
the weftward by an imperceptible movement which
may be eftimated at eight or nine miles, or about
three leagues a day. But this movement, which
efcapes the uncertain methods of the pilot, cannot
l| elcape the obfervations of the aftronomer.
m On lofmg fight of the Ifland of Formosa, jthe
Solids directed her courfe for Macao.
On the 20th, land was difcovered at half pad
fix o'clock in Û\g mornings it bore north-weft ;
but the mift did not yet allow of its being diftin-
guifhed: Captain Marchand ftood on to ap-
IH proach it. The fog not having cleared up, he
* Longitude of the point of departure 158° 29' njueji — Longi=
Hi tude of the point arrived at, by account, 124° 47' eaj}. Dif-
K ference of longitade, by account, 76° 44'. (See the Journal of
IP' the Rautey and Note LVIII.)
was
88
Marchand's voyage. [Nov* 1791,
was compelled to pafs the night in making (hort
boards.
The next morning, at half pad feven o'clock,
he difcerned Pedr A Branca (the White Rock)
to the weft by fouth 3° fouth : he fteered fo a&
to pafs to the foudiward of it ; and at half pad
nine, it bore diredlly north, diftant two miles,
Pedra Branca is a fmall white rock, high, and
iteepy fituated eighteen leagues to the eaft-north-
eaft of the Grand Lema, the moft eafte'rn and
the moft confiderable of the group which bears
that name and lies to the eaftward of the nume-
rous iflands that form the roads of Macao, and
the mouth of the river of Canton. Pedra
Branca may be perceived at four or five leagues'
diftance.
The fea was covered with fifhing- boats. Cap-
tain Marchand fired a gun as a fignal for a pilot
acquainted with the coaft ; and it was not Jong
before an officious Chinefe, but we cannot fay a
* According to G. Rohertfon (page 1 2 of his Memoir of a
Chart of the China Sea) the latitude of Pedra Branca, from a
good obfervation, is 22° 20' 00''^ north; and its longitude from
Green^Mu-h 115° 8' deduced from Macao, or 115° 14' oo", if we
place Macao, as I have done (Note LX) in 173° 35* 15".
Rohertfon adds that its longitude was confirmed by nine fets of
aftronomical obfervations (objcéls eaft and weft of the moon,)
made by Captain W, Frafer; whofe mean of the whole places it in
115° 4' eaft. If we choofe to take a mean between thefe two
determinations, we fhall have 115'^ 9' oo''^ eaft from Greenwich,
or 1 1 2*^ 48' 45" eaft from Parts : Rohertfmi has adopted n 5° 8 '00"
from the meridian of Greenwich,
difin-
Nov. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. 89
difinterefted one, made his appearance. The
weather being rather bad, he was not afraid of
rating his fervices at too high a price : he de-
manded 70 dollars, and required that the fum
fliould be paid him beforehand : as he neither un-
derftood French, Englifh, nor Portuguefe, and as
Captain Marchand neither had the means nor
the time to difpute about the fum, he paid it, and
put the Solide under his direcVion, with the con-
fidence that the blind man has in his guide.
The wind blew from north-north-eafi: to north ;
and, agreeably to the indication of the pilot, the
ihip was brought clofe to the wind in order to
keep the coaft aboard.
At half paft one o^clock in the afternoon, Pedra
Branca bore eaft-north-eaft half north, diftant
about four leagues; and, a little time after, was
out of fight. Captain Marchand regulated his
courfe by the Chart of part of the coafi of Chim,
îdc, pubiifhed by Alexander Dalrymple, a
copy of which is to be found in D'Apres' Neptune
Oriental^ 2nd edition. No. 53.
The weather was overcaft and mifty: at half
paft five o'clock in the afternoon, the pilot pro-
pofed to come to for the night; and the anchor
was let go in eighteen fathoms, over a bottom of
fofc mud; little Single Ifland bearing north-eaft
half eaft, and Toneang Ifland north-eaft by
north, at the diftance of two or three leagues from
thefe iflands; the Grand Lema fouth-weft.
On
marchanb's voyage. [Nov. 1791,
On the 22nd, in the morning, Captain Mar-
chand got under way with a frefh breeze at
north-north-eaft, and fleered weft-fouth-weft, in
order to range along the fouth coaft of Poo- Toy,
and pafs to the northward of the Grand Lema,
The ihip had run eighteen miles to the weft fouth-
weft half fouth: Ling-ting Ifland bore weft by
fouth, and the Ifland of Poo-Toy, from north-
north-weft to north-north-eaft, at the diftance of
half a mile, when he hauled his wind to fteei* for
the Peak of Lan-Tao, and pafs to windward of
Ling-Ting. But the wind came round to the
north-north- weft, at the fame time blowing ftrong:
as it was no longer pofiible to weather the north
fide of this laft- mentioned ifland, the pilot bore up
in order to pafs it to the fouthward.
Captain Chanal remarks, that to the north-
ward of Ling-Ting, are feen two flioals, even
with the water's edge, which are not laid down on
Dalrymple's chart : the diftance from the moft
northern of thefe flioals to the ifland is rather more
than a mile.
At half paft noon, the Solide was to the fouth-
ward ofLiNG-TiNG j Captain Marchand hugged
the wind, leaving on the larboard hand, to leeward,
the Sa-Moan Iflands and thofe of Tsow, and
fteering for Chi-Chow Ifland, in order to double
it to the fouthward : the wind blew ftrong from
the northward.
Quite
Nov. 1791.] marchand's voyage.
9i
Quite clofe to the Sa-Moan and Tsow Iflands,
are feen fome fmall iflots, which are not laid down
on the chart -, but they are not dangerous.
In the mean time, the wind continued to fcant
more and more : and, although the Jfhip carried all
the fail that circumftances would allow, no hopes
were entertained of her being able to weather fome
fhoals, fituated to the northward of the Chook-
Chow Iflands, which the chart has not indicated.
Captain Marchand determined to anchor under
Chi-Chow Ifland, where he came to, at a quarter
paft three o'clock, in thirteen fathojns, over a
muddy bottom ; the Peak of that ifland bearing
north-north- eaft half eaft, one mile from its fouth-
weft coaft the moft eaftern of the Chook-Chow
Iflands fouth-fouth-weft half fouth ; and the peak
of the Ifland Lan-Tao north by eaft.
Chi-Chow conflfts of two fmall iflands clofe to
-each other; although, on the chart, thefe two
iflands are reprefented as one only.
On the 23d, the wind blew with too much vio-
lence, from north to north-north -eaft, for the
Solide to get under way: this day was fpent at
anchor, and the fliip was thus detained, till the
morning of the 25th, by an alternate contrariety
of wind or tide.
The latitude of the anchorage was obferved on
the 24th, at noon, in 22° 3' 30'^ north: which
places the fouth coaft of the ifland in 22° 4
or
marchand's voyage. [Nov, 1791.
or 5'*. It was high water at eleven o'clock in
the mr rning, at the difl'ince of two days from the
new moon : the flood fet to the weft-north-weft ^
and the ebb, to the eaftward.
On the 25th, at fix o'clock in the morning, the
weather at length permitted Captain Marchand
to get under way : the wind was moderate, and
the firft of the flood was favourable to the courfe r
he made a Ihort ftretch to the eaftward ; and, on
putting about again, the fliip looked up for thç
road of Macao.
He ranged along the Ifland of Laf-Sam-Mee,
which he doubled to the fouthward ; thence, he
fleered for that of Chuc-Tuan, which he pafled,
leaving it on the ftarboard hand at a very fmaii
diftance : at the moment when it bore north,
Laf-Sam-Mee bore eaft-norch-eaft, and Potoe
(Tailow- Chow on the Englifh chart) weft-fouth-
weft. With the wind which had veered to the
northward, blowing frefh, he paflied between the
fmall Jflands Tai-Lock and Sy-Lock : the channel
that they leave between them is narrow, and its
middle is obftru6ted by a fmall rock, which is
above water -, but the pilot, by figns, gave out
^ I obferve that, on D'Après' chart, N° 53, and on that of
Dalr^mpicy^oî which it is a copy, the latitude of the fouth coaft
of Chi-Chon.v Ifland is 22° and about thirteen 7nmutesy that is,
8 or 9 minutes more northerly than that given by the obferva-
tion on board the Solide ; but on thcfe fame charts, Macao is
placed in 22° 18', that is, 5I minutes too much to the north-
ward. ^
naviga-
Nov. 1791 •] MARCHAND's VOYAGE.
93
navigators to underftand that there exlfts no hidden
danger, and that a fhip may, with fafety, make free
with both iflands and the rock in the middle. The
Solide, in fa6t, paffed very clofe to Sy-Lock s to
the eaftward of this ifland, is feen a fmail rocky
iflot, near which were found five fathoms water ;
and this is the fmalleft depth that was met with
between the iflands : near Sy-Lock, the foundings
were eight fathoms.
After Captain Marchand had paffed the iflands,
he continued to hug the wind in order to fetch the
anchorage of Macao, for which he was fleering;
he was obliged to make a board to the eaftward s
and, at half paft eleven o'clock, he dropped anchor
in five fathoms and a half water, over a bottom of
foft mud the town of Macao bearing weft-north-
weft half weft, diftant two leagues s the eaft point
of the fouth peak of Montanha (Mountain) Ifland
fouth-weft by fouth ; Ling-Ting Ifland north-
north-eaft half eaft ; and the peak of Lan-Tao
eaft north- eaft half north. In this pofition, the
latitude which was obferved on this fame day at
noon, was 22° 1 1 north.
The anchors came home in this firft birth, with
a frefli wind from north to north-north-eaft. Two
days after. Captain Marchand took another an-
chorage more to the northward, in fix fathoms,
with the fame bottom as that of the former. The
town of Macao then bore west 8*^ fouth, at the
diftance of two leagues.
As
94
marchand's voyage. [Nov. 1791.
As the Solide had failed round the world iri
taking her route by the weft, fhe had loft a day
when £he arrived at Macao, and Captain Mar-
chand was obliged to change the computation of
time ; the day after his arrival, in lieu of reckon-
ing Saturday the 26th of November, as he ought
to have done in following the calculation of the
fliip from the period of her departure from Mar-
seilles, he fubftradled that day from the calendar,
and reckoned Sunday the 27th.
The news that Captain Marchand learnt at
Macao difconcerted all the fpeculations which the
owners of the Solide had in view in the expedi-
tion of their ftiip to the north-west coaft of
America ; and a failure, in the firft inftance, muft
have had an influence on every farther operation
which depended on the fale that would have taken
place in China. He was informed, on his arrival,
that the Chinefe government had, under fevere
penalties, juft prohibited all introdudion of furs
into the fouthern parts of the empire, and parti-
cularly that of otter-lkins. The rigour of this
prohibition was pretty generally attributed to fome
ftipulation made in favour of the Ruffians, in the
new treaty of commerce between the Emperor of
China and the Emprefs of Russia, a treaty that
muft neceftarily have originated from the difputes
which had occurred latterly between thefe two
powers, and which were known to have been ter-
minated to the fatisfadion of both ; byt fome per-
3 fons
Nov. 1791. J MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
95
fons who thought themfclves more clearfighted or
better informed, conceived that the prohibition was
to be imputed folely to the avarice and cupidity
of the Mandarins. From whatever caufe it arofe,
the prohibition fubfifted in all its force, and it
even appeared impofiible to be evaded. Already
a Spanifh fhip, which had come from Manilla
with three hundred otter- flcins, had been, from
the impofiibility that was experienced of dealing
with the Chinefe traders, forced to depofit her
cargo in a ilorehoufe, on which the fenate, felf-
denominated Portuguefc, but adling only at the
voice or through the impulfe of a Mandarin, were
obliged to caufe the feals to be affixed : anEnglifh
fhip, likewife laden with furs, had, by going up
to Wham-Poa or Wam-Pu^ attempted to elude
the vigilance of the cuftoms -, but not having been
able to procure the fale of a fmgle Ikin, her com-
mander refolved to carry his whole cargo to Eng-
land : a Portuguefe brig and another Englifh vef-
fel were expeéled from the coaft of America with
cargoes of the fame kind, and it was fuppofed that
a French fliip which was to have been difpatched
from Port TOrient, fmce the Solide had failed
from France, might have the fame deftination, and
arrive at Macao in the next feafon. This union
of unfavourable circumftances left little hope of
• trading with advantage, even in cafe that the pro-
hibition fhould happen to be taken off during the
Solide's ftay at Macao; for the great competi-
tion
r)ê MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Nov. 1791.
tion of venders muft necefîarily have lowered the
furs to fuch prices that the fale would yield a lofs
rather than a profit.
Captain Marchand, however, before he came
to any determination, waited till he received an
anfwer from the correfpondents of the houfe of
Baux, fettled at Canton (Quang-Tcheou-Fou),
to whom he had written in order to procure more
precife information ; but this anfwer confirmed
every thing that he had heard at Macao : the
impoffibility of felling at Canton the cargo of
furs, on account of the prohibition ; the inutility
of going up to Wham-Poa, where the fhip,
although not of a confiderable burden, would be
taxed by duties, the fum of which would amount
to no lefs than fix thoufand dollars. A tax fo
enormous was occafioned by the want of adivity
of foreign trade ; this year, there was fcarcely
reckoned in the port of Canton, half the number
of fhips that had come to trade there the pre-
ceding yeari and the Mandarin colledlor, being
obliged to pour, annually, into the treafury of
the empire, an equal fum, whatever may have
been the produce of the cufioms, finds a very
fimple method of bringing this produce to a par
with his obligation, and even, it may be fuppofed,
of rendering it much greater ; he doubles or triples,
at his pleafure, and according to circumftances, the
duties to be levied on fliips that touch at Canton.
The Chinefe government, whatever encomiums
may
Nov. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE* 9^
ni ay have been pafTed by feveral writers on the
wifdom of its adminiftration^ feems to be ftill igno-
rant that the augmentation of duties does not pro-
mote the increafe of the produce ; and that, mod
frequently, a quite contrary effed muft thence
follow*
From the certain information which Captain
IViARCHAND had juft received, he relinquifhed
every idea of a fale, even by having recourfe to
the channel of fmuggling, the only one that re-
mained open to him, and he refolved to put to fea
as foon as poiïible, in order to proceed to the Ifle
of France ; where, according to the inftru^tions
of his owners, money v/ould be tranfmitted to him
for a further commercial operation.
The correfpondents of the houfe of Baux had
annexed to their anfwer, a memorandum of the
prices at which furs had fold the preceding year :
it was there feen that the price of otter-fkins of
the firft quality had not rifen to more than fifteen
dollars. In comparing thefe prices with thofe of
former years, which we learn from the detail given
of them by the Editor of Dixon's Journal*, there
appears a confiderable decreafe in the profits with
which the Europeans flattered themfelves from this
new branch of commerce : in 1786^ Captain
Hanna had fold fldns of this defcription at the
rate of fixty dollars ; in 1787, they had fallen to
* Dixon's Voyage, page 316 and following.
VOL. il. H fifrvs
98
MARCH ANd's voyage. [NoV. 1/9 1»"
fifty; but, in 1788, Captain Me ares made them
rife to feventy, and fome even to ninety -one ;
though in the fame year, and fhortly after, thofe of
Captains Portlock and Dixon experienced a
confiderable decreafe: the markets of China
were already abundantly fupplied, and there was
felt the inevitable efFe6t of too large a flock : the
flcins, exported latterly, greatly exceeding the pro-
portion of the wants forefeen, the new and the old
Were reciprocally depreciated.
But the tafte of the Chinefe for furs is fo decided,
fo general, and this nation is fo wedded to its
habits, that it may be prefumed, that, if the pro-
hibition be not fpeedily taken off, the activity
of the venders and the eagernefs of the purchafers,
feconded by the cupidity of a Mandarin, will find
means to evade the law, as has happened with re-
fpe6l to the introduction of opium ; and, the ave-
nues being then open to fmiiggling, the prices
will rife or fall alternately, in proportion to the
difficulties, more or lefs great, which this illicit
traffic may meet with.
Captain Marchand, during his flay at Macao^
had frequent occafions of experiencing the injuflice
and oppreffion of the Chinefe government, of which
there is no voyager who does not loudly complain,
if he has made ever fo fhort a flay in the only port
gf China, the accefs to which is open to foreigners.
Obliged to apply to a Compradory or Chinefe bro-
ker, for the purchafe of their provifions, which
.tlie/
Nov. 1791.] MARCtlAND's VOYAGE,
99
they are not permitted to procure for themfelvesi
they pay for every article double its value. The
Portuguefe government of Macao is in, à ftate of
debafement which can be compared only to the in-
fol.ence^ the avidity, and the knavery of a Man-
darin. There it is that are to be feen the conque-
rors of- India, the fucceffors of the great Albu-
querque, in the dependence, and, in a manner^
under the ferula of a Chinefe cuftom-houfe officer,
who, with the title of Hoppo^ exercifes a fort of
defpotic fovereignty -, every moment, makes the
rulers of Asia kifs the iron rod by which they
are opprelTed; and feems to revenge this part of
the world, for the tyranny of the firft Europeans
that the ocean threw on its fliores*
I fhould deem it fuperfiuous to enter into any
detail refpeding the government, the manners, the
cuftoms, and the arts of the Chinefe : there is no
voyager, no miffionary, who has not, on this fub-
jedt, filled whole volumes ; and, probably, there
is not one who has not faid too much good or too
much ill of thefe various matters. We IHould im-
bibe an opinion undoubtedly too unfavourable of
them, if we were willing to judge of the empire
and its two hundred millions of inhabitants, from
the report of navigators, who all,- from Commo-
dore Anson, have improved the one on the other,
in order to paint by new touches, always more
hideous, the dilhonefty of the Chinefe government,
H 2 . which,,
100
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. (Uov. tjgi^
which, according to their accounts, can be equalled
only by that of the individuals to whom, fays the
philofophic hiftorian of the two Indies, there no
longer remains that fhame common to all knaves^
who choofe to be fo, but who do not fufFer people
to tell them of it*. But navigators abfolutely
infift that we fhouîd judge of all China, by the
city of Canton, the only one of which they can
get a glimpfe, and -into which they are not allowed
to penetrate but with formalities that would render
null the talents of the obferver the moft clear-
fighted, and the mod habituated to form, by a
rapid glance, a judgm.ent of men and things.
In reading what they fay of China, we recall
to mind, in fpite of ourfelves, that well-knowa
anecdote of a traveller, who having, in an inn,
had an altercation with the miftrefs of the houfe,
that was red-haired and ill-tempered, noted down
in his common-place book, that all the women of
the country were ill-tempered and red-haired.
How can Europe ever fix its opinion refpeding
an immenfe empire, alike fhut againft ftrangers
who have not the liberty of entering it, and againft
the natives who have not that of coming out of
it ? Perhaps, in ■ order to fucceed in forming an
idea that would come near the truth, we muft
* Raynal, Hiftolre Philo/ophique et Politique des EtabliJJemem
et du Commerce des Européens dans Us deux Indes^
wait.
Nov, 1791-] marchand's voyage.
101
wait, as Raynal fays, till permiflion be given to
difinterefled and judicious men, deeply verfed in
the language, both as to writing and fpeaking it,
to make a long ftay at the court of Pekin, to vifit
the provinces, to inhabit the country- places, , and
converfe freely with the Chinele of all ranks**
The enumeration of every thing that would be
necefTary for bringing us acquainted with China,
naturally leads us to pronounce, that we lhall never
know it otherwife than as we lately knew the in fide
of a convent, from having been jadmitted fome-
times into the parlour.
During the Solide's flay in Macao road, three
Englifh Eaft-Indiamen pafifed by without flopping,
and continued their route in order to proceed to
Europe. Captain Marchand availed himfelf of
this opportunity of writing to his owners, and of
addreffing to them the particular chart of the
Iles de la Révolution which he had difcovered,
on the 2 2d of June 1791, to the north- weft of the
group of Las Marquesas Mendoça. We
are certain that this chart reached France, and
that the houfe of Baux laid it at the feet of the
national Aflembly upwards of four months and
a half -before the Solide's return ^ for, on the
17th of April 1792, the chart was pre fen ted to
^that affembly, which decreed that honourable men-
* Raynal, Hiflolre Fh'ilofophtque et PoUùque des EtahliJJemens
du Commerce dei Europée7i^ dam les deux Indes,
tioa
102
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE, [NoV, Ijgi^
tion fhoûld be made of it in the verbal-procefs of
that day*.
About the fame time^ arrived in the road an
American brig, an officer belonging to which came
to beg Captain Marchandas permilTion for the
furgeon of the Solide to go on board of this
veflel, in order to give his advice to the captain
who was ill. Captain C h anal, being direéled to
repair thither Vv^ith Surgeon Rob let, for the pur-
pofe of offering to the American captain every
aiTiftance in the French captain's power, had an
opportunity of learning the objedl and the fuccefs
of this veffei's voyage.
She had failed, fifteen months before, from New
England. In the beginning of May 1791, fhe
* Captain Chanal has procured, from the Archives of thq
Republic, an extra(^l from this verbal procefs, which I tranfcribc
from the original that he put into my hands.
Archives of tfie French Republic.
ExtraSi from the <verhal-procefs of the National AJfemhîy^
of the I'^th of April 1792, â^th year of Liberty,
A Member prefents to the AfTembly a chart of feveral
** iflands, newly difcoyered in the Indian feas by the Sieur
<* Marchandy of Marfeilles, commander of the Ihip Solide, dif.
" patched to the South Sea, by Meffrs. J. and D. Baux, fhip-
** owners ; he moves that honourable mention fhould be made of
this offer. The proportion is decreed.
Collated and found conformable to the Original depofited
" in the Archives of the French Republic, by me. Keeper of
" the Archinjes ; in nvitnefs 'whereof J ha've fgned and catifed
** to be affixed the feal of the faid Archi'ves^ Paris, fifth
*' Ventofe, year five of the French Republic one and indivifible,"
Signed to the Original) Camus.
had
Nov. 1791.] MARCH AN d's VOYAGE. IO3 -
had put into the Bay of La Madre de Dios
in the Ifland of Santa Christina of the Mar-
<;yESAS DE Mendoça ; but her boats had not
been fent on ftiore, and fhe had received on board
wood and water, which the natives had brought in
their canoes. On quitting this bay, and {landing
to the north -weft, the American Captain had dif-
covered a group of nine iflands on which he had
impofed names; but he had not ftopped there,
and had not even detached a boat to examine them
clofely and vifit them : he had contented himfelf
with having a view of them, and had not thought
himfelf bound to deviate from his route for the
purpofe of acquiring a more particular knowledge
of them.
From the latitude which the American captain
gave to the iflands which he had feen; from
their relative poficions with refpeél to each other,
and to the Marquesas de Mendoça, Captain
Chanal could not doubt that the Revolution
Iflands, which Captain Marchand had difcovered
in the month of June of the fame year, were the
fame as thofe which the American captain had per-
ceived in the month of May 3 or that at leaft the
Revolution Iflands made part of thefe latter j
for,'-* fays Captain Chanal, " Captain Mar-
chand reckoned only four principal iflands,
while the American captain reckoned nine in the
group which hç difcovered,*'
I can-
104 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Nov. I79I.
I cannot entirely adopt the opinion of Captain
Chanal : I am perfuaded, as he is, that the
group of the American is the fame as that of the
French captain 5 but I think that he has not
rightly underftood the captain of the brig, and that,
when he faid that his group is compofed of rdne
iflands, he meant that the group of the Marquesas
pE Mendoça of which till now'five iflands only.
La Mad alena, San Pedro, Santa Christiana,
La Dominica, and Hood's îfland, have been
reconnoitred, is compofed of ni7îey by the addi-
tion of û\Q four new iflands which he has difcovered
to the north- weft of the former Marquesas ^ and
on what follows I ground my opinion :
If the reader caft his eye on the large planif-
phere which the Engliih geographer Arrowsmith
publiflied in 1794, he will fee to the north-weft
of the Mend OCA Iflands, a new group fituated
with refpe6î; to thofe iflands, as is, in regard to
them, the Revolution group : both occupy
about a degree and three-fourths in latitude ; both
are compofed of four principal iflands and of a
few iflots or rocks : and if we did not read Englifli
names in the place of French names, we might
fuppofe that Arrowsmith has had a knowledge
of the group of the Revolution Iflands, dif-
covered by Captain Marchand, and which he
has inferred in his planifphere, from fome plan
where thefe iflands were not regularly placed, but
merely fcattercd at hazard. In comparing the
group
Nov. 1791'] MARCHANd's VOYAGE.
group delineated by the Englifh geographer with
that of which Captain Chanal has conflruded
the chart, and in. carrying the eye, in this com-
parifon, along both groups from fouth-eaft to north-
wed, it is feen that the fmall ifland, called Riou's
Ifland by the Engliih, is the little Ile Plate of
the French; that Trevennen's Ifland of the for-
mer is Ile Marchand of the latter; that Sir
Henry Martin's Ifland, the largeft of Arrows
smith's group, is Ile Baux, the largeft of Mar-
chand's group; that the two rocks called Her-
gest's Rocks by the Englifli, are the rocks called
Les^Deux Frères by the French ; ^and that, in
lliort, the two moft northern iflands, which lie
i)orth-eaft and fou th- weft, with refpe6l to each
other, under the Angle name of Robert's Islands,
are Ile Masse and Ile Chanal, which have be-
tween them the fame bearing as the former, and
whofe diftance is the fame on the two charts. It
therefore appears to me proved, that if, as we
muft fuppofe, the new group which is feen on
Arrowsmith's planifphere, to the north-weft of
the Marquesas de Mendoça, is that which the
American captain difcovered, this group is com-
pofed of a number of iflands equal to that of the
Revolution Iflands; and that if this Captain has
faid that the group which he faw is compofed of
nine iflands, he meant to fpeak of the whole^ archi-
pelago of the Marquesas, of which the four new
iRands (that we reckon for five) are only an inte-
loS MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [NoV.
gral part, which, added to the fve old iflands, dif-
covered by Mend ana, and found again by Cap-
tain Cook, form, in fa6l, that archipelago com--
pofed of iflands ^, which the hydrographer of
the iflands of the Great Ocean, Tupia, had
delineated on his chart, before any modern navi-
gator had explored the portion of that archipelago
formeriy difcovered byMENDANA.
. The fcale of Arrowsmith's planifphere is too
fmall for us to be able to take, with any degree
of precifion, the latitude of each of the new iflands
in particular, as well as their relative differences of
longitude, and to compare them afterwards with
* It appears that the American Captain has not reckoned in
the number of his iflands the fmall ifland called, by the Englifti '
Riou's Ifland (our lie Plate) \ and the new group is thus
compofed, according to him, of only four iflands (the four prin-
cipal iflands of thofe reconnoitred by Marchand] y which, with
the five Mendoça Iflands, compofe his whole group of nine iflands
that we carry to ten^ reckoning our lie Plate for one.
The following note is taken from the Additions to Vol. I.
of the original 4to edition. — Tranjlator,
" Thus I reafoned/* fays M. Fleurieu, " before I had read
an account of the complete furvey which Lieutenant Hergeji
made, in 1792, of the group fituated to the norths wefl: of the
Marque/as de Mcfidoça ; but it may be feen, in the Additions
to the Voyage, that, v/ithout reckoning our little^ Z/^» P/^/^ for
any thing but an iflot or a rock, the ftorth-^ejî group is, irf
faft, compofed of ten iflands, as I had fuppofed, becaufe Cap-
tain Marchand, from the route which he followed in fight of
thef: iflands, could not perceive one of them, fituated 7 leagues
to the call ward of his lie Baux, and which was called Riou'^
Ifland by Lieutenant //é*;-^^.'*
thofe
Nov. 1791.] MARCH AN d's VOYAGE.
tliofe which are affigned to them by the obfer-
vations made and bearings taken by Captains Mar-
chand and Chanal; but, admitting that there
are differences rather confiderable in the latitudes,
in the longitudes, and, confequently, in the bear-*
ings and diftances, thefe differences do not de-
ftroy the proofs of the identity of the groups : for
jt is well known that the American captain had,
as it were, only a glimpfe of his, in paffing, and
jcould, at moft, but give a flvetch of it 3, whereas
Captain Marchand, by numerous obfervations
and bearings, has afcertained, on the one hand, the
latitudes and the relative ficuations of the iflands
which compofe the Revolution group j on the
other, their pofition with refped to the group of
the Marquesas; and as Captain Chanal has
conftrudled a chart of it • with the authorities of
which his journal has made us acquainted.
Captain Marchand, undoubtedly, cannot af-
pire to the honour of priority ; but he has not,
on that account, like the American captain who
anticipated him, the lefs pretenfion to the honour
of the difcovery s for he could not know, in the
month of June ijgiy while he was navigating in
the Great Ocean, that a month before, another
navigator, fVanding the fame courfe with himfelf,
had made the fame difcovery. We mud, however,
grant to the French Captain an additional merit,
that of having made known to us the' natives of
the new iflands, and of having fixed the geogra-
3 phical
MARCH AN d's VOYAGE. [Nov. I79I.
phical pofitions of this gfoup with an exadnefs
fijfficient for the fafety of navigatton.
I muft not omit that the American Captain
mentioned to Captain Chanal, that, during his
navigation in fight of the new iflands, he conftantly
perceived, to leeward, an appearance of land, the
form, the diftance, and the pofition of which had
not varied all the time that he was abreaft of thefe
iflands. This remark, conformable in all points
to that which was made on board of the Solide,
in the fame track of fea, and in the fame fituation,
fcems to afford nearly the certainty that, to lee-
ward of this new group, there exift other landg
ftill unknown. »
Captain Chanal, in his converfation with the
captain of the American brig, picked up a few
other particulars of his voyage, which will not
appear foreign to that of Captain Marchand.
This vefîçl had traded for the fifteen hundred
furs which flie brought to Canton, partly on the
coaft of America, to the fouthward of Queen
Charlotte's Iflands, partly along the weft coaft
of thofe iflands -, but flie had proceeded no farther
to the northward than Cloak Bay, and had em-
ployed only forty days in carrying on her trade.
Her voyage prefents no difcovery in that quarter.
During the ftay which, on his return from the
NORTH-WEST coaft, the American Captain had
made at Atooi, the moft northern and the largeft
of the weft group of the Sanpwicp^ Iflands, hç
ha4
Nov. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. I09
had received on board his vcffel two failofs, who^
two years before, had beeii carried off from an En^
glifh brig by the natives of the ifland, and were
obHged to employ no fmall lhare of cunning ta
cffeâ: their efcape. Thefe two men reported that
they had been well treated ; but they affirmed that
they had been convinced with their own eyes, that
thofe iflanders are cannibals, and eat their pri-
foners. I know not what degree of confidence
ought to be granted to the teftimony of thefe two
failors j but, it appears, on the other hand, that
Captain Cook, Lieutenant King, Surgeon Ander-
son, and feveral of the officers belonging to the
Resolution and the Discovery, who had made
it their particular bufmefs to inquire whether the
• natives of the Sandwich iflands ought to be ac-
cufed of cannibalifm, were never able to obtain
the certainty of the fa6t; and if they have not
been willing to pronounce the negative, at leaft
they do not fuffer it to be doubted, that they were
flrongly inclined to repel this horrible accufation.
I leave others to judge whether the teftimony of
two failors, however pofitive it may appear, be
fufficient for deciding a queftion, which obfervers,
no lefs intelligent than enlightened, and particularly
bent on inquiries which might fix their opinion
on this point, have not fucceeded in clearing up.
Have thefe failors feen diftinélly ? Have they faith-
fully reported what they favv ? Have they not wifhed
CO make a fort of merit, have they not thought to
give^
no ilARGHAND*S VOYAGE* [NoV. I79I,
give themfelves a degree of confideradon and im^
portance, in announcing themfelvcs as men who
had efcaped the tooth of cannibals ? They may,
befides^ probably have been deceived by appear-
ances : for it is well known, that the cuftom of
the natives of the Sandwich Iflands is to cut in
pieces the bodies of their dead enemies, which
they have been able to feize on, to burn their
fiefli, and to preferve their bones as trophies, which
are to perpetuate the memory of their exploits.
Thus it was that they dealt with the body of the
xjnfortunate Cook. When Captains Clerke and
Gore, Lieutenant King, and the other companions
of that heroic navigator, claimed the remains of
their Hector, and had obtained that they fliould
be reftored to them, thefe remains were wrapped
up in a large quantity of fine new cloth, and co-
vered with a fpotted cloak of black and white
feathers*. We foundinthe bundle," fays King,
both the hands of Captain Cook entire, which
were well known from a remarkable fear on
<^ one of them, that divided the thumb from the
fore-finger, the whole length of the metacarpal
bone; the fkull, but with the fcalp feparated
from it, and the bones that form the face want-
" ing ; the fcalp, with the hair upon it cut fhortj
and the ears adhering to it; the bones of both
*^ arms, with the fkin of the fore-arms hanging
♦ Cook's thitd Voyage, Vol. III. page 79.
to
Nov. 1791 •] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. Ill
*^ to them y the thigh and leg-bones joined toge-
" ther, but without the feet. The ligaments of
" the joints were entire ; and the whole bore evi-
" dent marks of having been in the fire, except
*^ the hands, which had the flefh left upon them,
" and were cut in feveral places, and crammed
with fait, apparently with an intention of pre-
" ferving them*." The Englifli alfo claimed the
bodies of the marines who had. been killed ; but
the natives explained that the common people had
fhared their members among them, and that they
were irrecoverable : they added that they would
bring the remaining bones of the captain, " thefe
alone having been preferved as belonging to
Terreeoboo (the principal chief of the ifland)
" and the Earees-\.'' In the whole courfe of this
melancholy treaty, the Englifh gathered no indi-
cation which could make them fufpeél that their
unfortunate companions had ferved as food to their
murderers : we merely difcover, in the eagernefs
of the chiefs to poflfefs fome portion of a being
who had feemed to them fupernatural, whom they
thought invincible, perhaps even invulnerable, and
who had fallen under the dagger which he himfelf
had forged, we difcover, I fay, that defire natural
to warlike and half-favage iflanders, to poffefs a
monument of their victory, a teftimony of their
* Cook's third Voyage, Vol, III. page 79.
t Ihtdi page 8 i ,
valour*
m MARCHANDAS Voyage. [Now lygt^
valour. Perhaps too fuperflitîon is blended with
thisfentiment of pride; perhaps^ after having dei-
fied Captain Cook in his life-time, they wiflied,
by fharing his mortal part, to preferve his remains
in the nature of talifmans, or to expofe them, as
relics, to the veneration of the people. Be this
as it may; nothing proves, nothing indicates that
the natives of the Sandwxch Iflands are cannibals
and wc lliould not be juftified in concluding that
they are fo, becaufe they facrifice men in certain^
ceremonies : the Taheiteans alfo facrifice men, and
yet are not cannibals ; while the inhabitants of New
Zealand, who, no doubt, are lefs fuperflitious
and more cruel, eat men, but facrifice none. The
natives of the Sandwich Iflands have priefts ; they
therefore have fuperflitions ^ and human facrifices
have been in ufc among all nations over whom
fuperftition has reigned -, madmen as they were>
they imagined that the blood which they fhed wao
to appeafe the angry divinity, or obtain from his
power fignal protedlion, and the affurance of vic^
tory, if they marched to battle : but hiflory, which
has handed down "to us the recital of thefe horrible
burnt- offerings, does not tell us that the people
who facrificed men, carried their blind fury fo far
as to devour their fellow-creatures ; one of thefc
horrors is not infeparable from the other.
If, however, it were true that the inhabitants of
the Sandwich Iflands were cannibals, let us hope
that their frequent communications with Europeans
(which.
Nov. 1791 •] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. II3
(which, in other refpeffcs, may be fo fatal to
them) by foftening their ftill ferocious manners,
will be the means of caufing them to renounce
their execrable feftivals. Captain Cook, who, in
the Ifland of Tahbitee, had been witnefs of a
human facrifice, flattered himfelf that the horror
with which he had infpired the Taheiteans for
thefe homicidal ceremonies, would abolifh the ufe
of them for ever : would it then be more difEcult
to perfuade the former that, if it is repugnant to
Nature to facrifice a man, it is ftill more repug-
nant to her to feed on his fiefti ? Ah ! no doubt,
the glory the moft to be coveted, the fweeteft
fruits that Europeans ought to promife themfelves
from their long voyages, would be, that, in vifiting
every part of the inhabited earth, they might every
where be able to recall the favage to the dignity
of man, and deftroy, over the whole furface of
the globe, the abominable remains of cannibalifm !
In favour of fo great a benefit, the philofophcr
might forget fome of the outrages which Euro-
cans, in difcovering the world, have done to
umanity.
The Captain of the American brig, during his
ftay at the Sandwich Iflands, had received on
board four natives belonging to thofe iflands, who
had offered to accompany him ; but it appears
that they had been foon difgufted with a kind of
life fo different from that of an iflander of the
Great Ocean, One of thefe who had come on
VOL. II. I board
V
s 14 ' MARCHAXd's VOYAGE. [NoV. I79I.
board of the Solide, when the fhip lay to abreaft
of the Ifiand of O-Whyhse for the purpofe of
procuring rcfrefhments there, recoUedled at Ma-
cao Surgeon Roblet, whom he earneftly, and
repeatedly intreated to take him on board the
French fliip : this requefl: could not be complied
with] though he knew not that to him it would
have been only to change his prifon. A native
of the Sandwich Iflands muft with difficulty ac-
cuftom himfelf, or rather would never accuftom
himfelf, to a ftate of dependence and obligatory
labour : curiofity may probably lead him to feek
employment in the fervice of Europeans who are
to him a new race of men, and mud appear to him
extraordinary and fuperior, when he compares their
induftry to his own : but if he have attained a
certain age, if he have already known how to ap-
preciate liberty, the life of a failor is not calcula-
ted for him ; fhortly will he regret his ifland, his
woods, and his hut; and as foon as he has it
In his power, he will return to his home, revertet
ad Juos,
Captain Chanal was informed by the American
Captain, that the three- mailed veffel, perceived
from the Solide off Berkley Sound, and which
had been fufpeded to be one of the frigates that
the Spanifli government, under the appearance of
a voyage of difcovery, had difpatched to watch the
condud and tlie operations of the Englifh, was
a fhip belonging to the United States, and was
6 to
Nov. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
to winter on the coaft : an officer of this fhip and
fome of her people had fallen viflims to the fury
of the favages, in a harbour fituated to the fouth-
ward of Nootka Sound. He likewife learnt that
the brig which had been perceived to the eaft-
ward of Cox's Channel, was an American, and
that he had left on the coaft, another brig and a
fchooner of the fame nation. Thefe three laft-^
mentioned veflcis were to come this year to China,
and intended to return to the north-west coaft
of America ; they had left there a boat, which,
during the winter, was to be employed in colleding,
for the following year, the quantity of fkins nc«
ceffary for forming their cargoes. The fchooner,
in her way to the coaft, had anchored at O-Why-
hee: the natives had killed two of her people ;
and the veffel had been forced to cut her cables
and make fail, for fear the natives, too ftrong in
number, and become too enterprifing, Ihould fuc-
ceed in getting her into their polTeffion.
Thefe different accounts fufficiently fhcw that
the Americans of the United States, whofe na-
vigation and commerce are daily acquiring freih
extenfton, have feized with ardour, and without
being difcouraged by the diftance, the new fup-
port which the peltry of the north-west coaft of
America offers to their fpeculations, to their in-
duftry, and to their want of enriching themfelves
in order to pay the public' debt : to the nations
of Europe, they are become formidable compe-
Ï 2 titorsj
lié marchand's voyage. [Nov. 1791.
titers y and their a6livity is by no means inferior
to that of the Englilh. It is well known too
that the Spaniards, under the name of the Philip-
pine Company, are endeavouring to rival both;
and even the Portuguefe of Macao, roufed from
their lethargic languor by the feducing allurement
of the enormous profits that the firfl: operations
have yielded, have attempted to engage in the
new career which had juft been opened to cupidity.
Thus, Europe, Asia, and Nortii-east America,
by a fimultaneous movement, have direded their
fnips towards the north-west coafts of the New
World, and vied with each other in multiplying,
without principles as well as without prudence,
their bold fpeculations.
But the fur-trade has limits fixed by nature and
by reafon : {peculations ought, on the one hand,
to be combined with the population of a country
far from favourable to the multiplication of men,
and with the time neceHary for the reprodudlion
of the animals againft which they make war, and
for whofe ikins trade is waiting ; on the other hand,
with the annual confumption that may be made
of thefe furs, when the introduélion of them is
free, by the people of that empire of Asia, to
which the total produce of the trade of America
is configned.
Before the voyages of our time had made known
the part of the north-west coaft, comprifed be-
tween the fiftieth and fixtieth parallel north, Rus-
sia
Nov. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
117
siA had already created this trade ; and it feemed
likely to be to her a fort of exclufive property,
which her geographical pofition might infure.
The Englifli carried to St. Petersburg, as they
ftill carry thither at this day, their peltry from
Canada and Hudson's Bay : thence, taking the
road of the interior," partly by land, partly by the
lakes and rivers, and augmented on the route, by
the addition of the furs furnifhed from Siberia,
and by thofe which the navigation of the Ruffians
has procured them, fmce they have difcovered
the Archipelago of the Ku riles, that of the
Aleutian Iflands, and the continent of America
above the fixtieth parallel, all thefe furs afTembled
arrived, after a pafTage of feveral months, at the
frontier town of Kiatchta *, the mart of the
Ruffians i and traffic was open with Maimats-
CHiNf, the town, or the market of the Chinefe,
which is feparated from the former only by the
rivulet
* Kiatchta is lituated a little to the northward of the fftieth
parallel ; and it is an error of the prefs which places it in the
latitude of thirty -finje degrees, in the eftimable work of William
Coxtf entitled Account of the Ruffian Di/co^eries hetnucen AJia
and America, London, 1780. 4to. page 212.
+ " The frontier town of China,*' fays Coxe, page 214 of
the work quoted in the preceding note, " is called by the
" Chinefe and Mougols, Maimàt/chin, which fignifies fortrefsof
" commerce-^'* but the Chinefe have another emporium, that of
Zuruchaita, alike fituated on the frontier of Siberia, on the
weftern branch of the rv7Qv Argoony 12° 40' more to the eaft-
ward, and about a degree lefs to the northward than Kiatchta,
13 Formerly
ii8 marchand's voyage. [Nov. 1791.
rivulet of KiATCHTA. From Maimatsghin the
furs reached Pekin, ànd thence were diftributed
throughout the whole empire. It is eafy to con-
ceive that the new introdudlion of furs by fea and
the fouthern ports of China, by calling the
Englifh, the Americans^ the French, the Spaniards,
and the Portuguefe to a fliare of this trade, by
cccafioning them to enter into competition and
rivality v/ith the Ruffians, mull make the merchan-
dife that is the objedl of it, fall to prices which no
longer hold out a fufficient profit to excite and
maintain the a6livity of frefli fpeculations.
It may therefore be forefeen, that the maritime
nations will do each other a mutual prejudice, by
crowding too much to the markets of China;
at the fame time that they will reciprocally injure
one another in their purchafes, by a too great
refcrt to the north-west coaft of America.
Doubtlefs, they have already perceived that, if
they are defirous of preferving this valuable branch
of trade, and of preventing it from drying up in
their hands, they mud not require from it more
fruit than it can yield without being exhaufted.
Let them haften then, if yet it be time, let them
Formerly the commerce carried on at Zuruchaita was confi-
" derable ; but at prefent it is fo trifling that it hardly deferves
to be mentioned; almoft the whole traffic between Ru£îa and
" China is confined to Klatchia,'* {Ruffian Difconjerusy bj Wo
Coxe^ page 241 and 245,)
haften
Nov.. 1.791.] marchand's voyage.
haflen to relax and arrange their hitherto diforderly
operations, in order to regulate their extent by the
quantity of furs which it is f^pffible to draw annually
without drying up their fource, and by the pre-
fumable proportion of the vents that may be open
to the general produce of the trade. The intereft
of commerce and that of the fciences are here
blended; and we muft wifli that a condud far from
rational and difap pointed hopes, may never force
the Europeans to interrupt that interefting fuccef-
fion of voyages into the Great Ocean, which,
by multiplying, in every direction, the tracks of
our ihips, muft indubitably, and in the courfe of
a few years, perfe6t the defcription of the parts
of the globe little known, and obtain a frefli in^
crcafe to the ftock of our knowledge.
CHAP.
tie
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. I791.
CHAPTER VIII.
DEPARruRE from Macao. — P^Jfage of the China
Sea. — Rectification of the Chart of that Sea»—
The Solide pajfes through Gafpar's Strait between
the Tflands of Banca and B ill i ton. — New Plan of
the two Straits which prefent themf elves between
thefe ijlands, — Thefe Straits preferable to that of
Bmcâ,~Navigation from Gafpar's Strait to the
Ifle ^ France. — Arrival at Port du Nord-Oueft
(Port North -weft) in this laft-mentioned ijland.
^Tranfa5tions there,
ripHE Solide fet fail from Macao Road for the
Ifle of France, on the 6th of Decenaber, at
half pad ten o'clock in the evening, and diredcd
her courfe fo as to ftrike foundings on the Mac-
clesfield Bank, fituated towards the latitude of
15° 45' north, in the middle of the China Sea.
On the 8th, at eight o'clock in the morning,
foundings were ftruck on it, in fixty-five fathoms,
the bottom broken fhells, mixed with fmall black
and white gravel. Two hours before, no ground
could be reached with a line of eighty fathoms.
Having afcertained the fituation of the fhip by
thefe foundings, which Captain Marchand could
not doubt to belong to one of the limits of the
bank, he fleered fouth-weft in order to get fight
of Pulo-Sapataj fmall iflands fituated towards
the
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. 121
the tenth parallel north, about the diftance of forty-
two leagues from the fouth-eaft point of the king-
dom of Camboja.
On the 1 1 th, a little time after noon, the fea,
which till then had been rough, fell all on a fud-
den ; and it was not without great furprife that, at
forty minutes paft four in the afternoon, he per-
ceived to the weft by fouth, at the diftance of
about five leagues eftimated by the eye, an ifland
in a fituation where, by the courfe which the fhip
had fteered, none ought to be met with.
According to the latitude of ii** 14, which
had been obferved at noon, and the run which
the ftiip had made fmce that moment, the land
that was in fight could be only the iflands called
the Two Brothers, fituated on Alexander
Dalrymple's Chart of the China Sea, at the
diftance of eleven leagues weft by north 3® weft:
from the moft eaftern of the Pulo-Sapata*
Although the land that was perceived could
be no other than the Two Brothers, yet there
remained fome uncertainty in this refpedl ; becaufe
on the fuppofition that it was the Two Brothers,
the fhip ought to have paffed fo near to the
moft fouthern iflands of thofe which compofe
the Paracels, that it would have been impofîible
for our navigators not to have feen them, and
yet not one of them had been perceived. On
confulting the Table of geographical pofitions in-
ferted in the Connoijfance des Tmp^ (French ephe-
meris.
ta 2
marchand's voyage, [Dec. 1791»
meris, or nautical almanac), which gives the lon-
gitude of Pltlo-Sapata, as it was determined by
the obfervations made in Cook*s third voyage.
Captain Marchand thôught he difcovered that
this iOand is placed, on Dalrymple's chart,
about too far to the weft ward : and as the Two
Brothers muft have been laid down there from
their bearing and diftance in regard to Pulo-
Sapata, he judged that the error of their pofition
muft be the fame as that of the pofition of thefe
latter iflands. From the moment that he had
perceived the Two Brothers, he fteered fouth-
weft and fouth-weft by fouth ; and at fix o'clock,
they bore from weft 26° north to weft 45® north.
He then ftood on to get fight of the largeft of
the group of the Pulo-Sapata ; and about mid-
night, by the help of the moon, he difcovered it
to the fouth-weft by weft. This ifland is fmall and
barren, but high land ; and its form, which is
that of a Jhoe, as its name indicates*, admits not
of miftaking it and confounding it with another
ifland f : in clear weather, it may be feen ten
or eleven leagues from the deck of a merchant-
fliip. He fteered fo as to ro;ind it at a fuitable
* Zapato and Capato, fhoe, in Spanifh and in Portuguefe,
+ " When Pulo-Sapata bears north," fays George Rohertfon^
it is extremely curious in appearance, and looks as if it were
going to fall to the right ; both fides in that point of view
ftand a great way off their centre,*' (See Memoir of a Chart
vf the China Seaj &c. London, 1791, 410. page 6).
diftance 5
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANd's VOYAOE. IÎ3
diftance ; and at three quarters paft midnight^ it
bore diredly weft, diftant four or five miles.
This remark of Captain Chanal has appeared
to me to defervc to be examined with attention,
becaufe it points out two corrections to be made :
the one in the Chart of the China Sea by Alexander.
Dalrymple, a copy of which is to be found in the
fécond edition of the Neptune Oriental of D^Après
DE Mannevilette, and on which all the French
navigators regulate their courfe in the China Sea ;
the other on the General Chart of the Worlds by
Lieutenant Roberts, which accompanies the ac-
count of Captain Cook's third voyage. The error
in Dalrymple's chart lies in the longitude of
Pulo-Sapata, reverts on that of the Two •
Brothers, and is owing to the difference of
meridian, on this chart, between Pu lo- Sap at a
and Macao being too great by 50 minutes of
a degree^. The error in the chart of Cook's
third voyage confifts in its placing the Two Bro-
thers to the north about /fP eafi of Pulo-Sapata^
whereas, by the route v/hich the Solide followed,
in pafling from the former iflands to the latter, the
Two Brothers muft be fituated to the north
about 22° wefl of Pulo-Sapata, nearly in the
pofition in which they are feen on Dalrymple's
chart j-. I refer the reader to the Nor es which
are to be found at the end of this narrative, for
* Note LX.
f Note LXI,
thç
144 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [DeC. 1791.
the detail of the combinations, calculations, and
trigonometrical operations, by which I have en-
deavoured to determine the quantity of this error.
The excellent Memoir which G. Robertson pub-
lifhed in 1791, for the elucidation of his capital
. Chart of the China Sea^ has been very ufeful to me
for the firft of the corrections to be made i and if
my refults differ fometimes from his, I am not the
lefs indebted to him for a great number of data^
with which his inquiries have furnifhed me, but
which have not always led me to the fame con-
fequences that he thought he might draw from
them. The difcuflion in which I was involved by
the combination of thefe various data, has put
me in the way of treating of the pofition of fomc
points of the China Sea, which it was important
to fix with the precifion neceffary for leffening the
perils of navigation, in a fea where the currents
which mafter fhips, leave a great uncertainty ref-
pe6ling their dire6lion and velocity, and where
iflots, fand-banks, and dangers of all forts prefent
themfelves every moment.
Captain Marchand took his departure from
Pulo-Sapata, which he fuppofed ought to be
placed in the latitude and longitude deduced from
the obfervations made in Cook's third voyage j
and he dire6led his courfe to the fouth-weft, in
order to make Pulo-Timoan.
He had the firft view of it to the fouth-fouth-
wefl, on the 15th at fix o'clock in the morning,
at
Dec, 1791-] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
at the moment when the foundings were thirty-
eight fathoms, over a bottom of rather hard mud ;
and at eight o'clock, Pulo-Timoan bore fouth-
fouth-weft, and Pulo-Pissang fouth half- weft.
This latter ifland is the largeft of a group fituated
near the Malay coaft, between the parallels of
2 and 3® north, and compofed of the Iflands or
Puloy Varela, Aor, Timoan, Pissang and
TiNGi : Pissang is a high land, which may be
difcerned at the diftance of twenty or twenty-one
leagues.
Clouds did not admit of obferving the meridian
altitude of the fun; but at three quarters paft
two o'clock, PuLo-AoR (or Pulo-Laor, accord-
ing to D'Anville*) was feen at the diftance of
four leagues and a half, bearing fouth-fouth-weft.
The eaft part of this little group prefents very
high land, forming two hills, which lie in regard
to each other fouth-eaft and north-weft, the moft
cafterly of which is the higheft. Its geographical
pofition was determined by the obfervations made
in Cook's third voyage, which fix its latitude at
1° 42'' north, and its longitude at 102*^ 19' 45" eaft
from Paris f: on deducing the pofition of the
fliip
* And according to the natives of the Ifland Pulo-Wawssn
+ Lat. \ According to K;«s . . 2 40 oo 7 Mean 2" 42' oo"N.
C According to Bajly . . 2 44 oo 3
Eaft from Paris,
Long 1 According to King 102 16 45 | Mean 102° ig' 45"
^' 3 According to Bajly io2 Z2 45 3 ^^aft from Paris.
Se#
12^ MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. 1791.
fhip from the bearing of Pulo-Aor, we find that
her latitude muft have been 2^ 56', and her longi-
tude, 102° 26' i but the dead reckoning from the
laft bearing of Pulo-Sapata, on the i ith at three-
quarters paft midnight, gave f 17' for the lati-
tude, and 103° 19' for the longitude -, and thence
it was concluded that, in the interval from the
nth to the 15th, the currents had carried the fhip
21 minutes to the fouthward, and 53 minutes to
the weftward.
I muft apprize French navigators that the fitu-
ation of Pulo-Aor, on the chart No. 49 of
D'Après' Neptune Orientale (fécond edition) is not
conformable to the refults of the obfervations
made in Cook's third voyage : if thefe be admitted,
the latitude which on the chart is only 2° 30', mufl
be increafed about i 2 minutes j and on the general
chart. No. 9 of this Colledlion, where the latitude
is the fame as on the particular chart. No. 49, the
longitude, which is only 102°, mufl be carried to
102^^20'*.
When
See Original Agronomical Oh/ewatlom made in a Voyage
to the Northern Pacific Ocean, Sec, page 351. — See alfo Note
LX. at the end of this narrative.
* In making this criticifm on D*Jprh' two charts which I
have defignated, I ought not to negled to inform' the reader
that George Robert/on, as well as the French hydrographer,
employs on his great chart of the China Sea, the latitude of 2**
30', and that it is the fame on Alexander Dalrjfnple^s chart.
Moft alfuredly, Robert/on was unacquainted with the obferva-
tions
Dec. tfgi''] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. 12;
When the Solide had doubled Pulo-Aor, fhe
fleered fouth-fouth-eaft in order to pafs without
the Dooger's Banks, which are faid to be dan-
gerous, and the pofition of which is ftill uncer-
tain*.
On the 17th, about nine o'clock in the morning,
land was perceived to the fouth-fouth-weft. It
was fuppofed, according to the calculation made of
tlons of Ceok's voyage, which are confiderably prior to the pub-
lication of his chart, but later than that of Da/rjmple's chart, and
yet he has not employed their refult ; nor has he explained him-
fclf in regard to the . motive that may have determined him not
to make ufe of it ; but merely fays, (page 9 of his Memoir) that
the latitude of Pnlo-Aor or Pulo-Auro is between 2° 29^ and 2®
30'north. (See Note LX.)
* I tranfcribe what G, Rohert/on fays of the Dooger^s Banlsf
in the Memoir which he publifhed in 1791, for the elucidation
of his chart of the China Sea, page 34.
The Dooger's Banks certainly exift, and are very danger-
ous : they are placed on the chart, in their true lituation,
and from the following correfponding accounts : I took Mr..
" D'Aprh* diftance from Pulo-Panjang (folio, No. 49"*^ of the
Neptune Oriental, 2nd edit.) allowing my own longitude of
that ifland, which places them in 40' north, and longitude
" 105° 26' eaft : (or 103° 5' 45" eaft from P<2m)- to confirm
" which the Ganges faw the (hoals ; her latitude of them is
0° 37' north, 105° 29^6311 from Green-cvich ; fo that I have
" little doubt of their being nearly right.'* -
I obferve that G, Robert/on (page 34 of his Memoir) has pla-
ced, by a chronometer, the longitude of Pulo-Panjang from that
which he has given to Pulo- Aor : and as the latter, according
to my calculations, is more eafterly by 2 minutes than that
adopted by Robert/on, that of the Dooger's Banks muft be likewife
increafedby 2 minutes, {See Note LX.)
out
128 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. " [Dec. I79I.
the fhîp's run, that this mufl: be a fmall ifland with-
out a name which-D'ApRÈs* Chart, No. 49 (2nd)
places a league and a half to the eaftward of the
eaft point of LiNGiN Ifland: Captain Marchand
flood to the fouth-fouth-eaft, in order to double
the fmall ifland -, but fqualls and rain prefently
concealed it from his view. At three quarters
pafl: ten, he founded in twenty fathoms water, over
a bottom of fand and ooze.
In deducing, by the dead reckoning, the fitu-
ation of the fliip from that of Pulo-Aor, placed
according to the obfervations made in Cook's voy-
age, it was found that, at noon, flie was 4^ north
of the equino6lial line, and in 103° 12^ eaft Ion*
gîtude.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, land was
again difcerned to the weft half fouth, and it was
judged to be the fame that had been feen in the
morning. The winds were rather faint from the
weft-north- weft and north- weft, the weather over-
caft, and as Captain Marchand intended to pafs
through the Strait of Banca, he hauled the wind
to make Pulo-Taya. But before fix o'clock in
the afternoon, land was feen ftretching from fouth
to fouth-fouth-weft. He immediately determined
oa anchor in order to wait for daylight, and he
came to in nineteen fathoms, over a bottom of
mud and fand
The next day, at fix o'clock in the morning,
he difcovered that the land feen to leeward was
the
JDec. 1791-] marchand's voyagé^
the northern coafl of the Ifland of Banca, which
extended from fouth a few degrees eaft to fouth-
fouth-weft, diftant feven leagues. He continued
to perceive the fame ifland which had been feen
the day before, and it bore north-weft 2*^ weft ;
but near this ifland, and to the north-weft by weft,
was feen another of a flat fnape, and larger than
the former , it was reckoned that the diftance from
the fhip to thefe two iflands might be five or fix
leagues.
According to thefe bearings, it could not be
doubted that the currents had fet at a very con-
fiderable rate to the Jouth-eaft : and this efl^edl does
not agree with what is to be found in the failing
diredions of D'Après, who fays that, in this fea^
the currents fet ftrongly to the Jouth-wefi, It is
clearly proved that the fliip had been carried to
the Jouthward and eajiward i for the point of
Banca which bore fouth a few degrees eaft,. was
certainly Point Pesant, the moft northern of the
ifland, which there was foon an opportunity of
verifying ; and it is evident that the two iflands
which lay to windward, and which, the day before,
had been taken for the fmall ifland fituated to the
eaftward of the eaft point of Lin gen Ifland, be-
caufe, according to the dead reckoning, the fliip
was fuppofed to be much more to the northward
than flie was in reality, it is evident, I fay, that
thefe were the Rigaudière Iflands. Captain
CîiANA^ obfervcs that, according to their fltua-
VOL, II. K tion
130 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. I79I.
tion on the chart of the Neptune Orientale (fécond
edition. No. 49, 2nd of the fupplement), and ac-
'cording to that of the fhip, Pulo-Toty, which,
however, was not perceived, ought to have been
feen at the fame time : this might induce the fup-
pofition that the laft-mentioned ifland is not rightly
laid down on the chart with refped to the Rigau-
DIÈRE Iflands, and that it muft be much nearer to
them : it is even prefumable that, of the two
iflands which were in fight, the one was Pulo-
Toty, and the other, the higher of the Rigau-
D1ÈRE Iflands, if, in fad, there be two of thefe ;
for, although D'Après has laid down two iflands
on his chart, the denomination which he gives
them of Ile Rigaudière, would feem to indicate
one ifland only: perhaps too the fécond is but a
little iflot which cannot be perceived far ofl\ Be
this as it may, of the two iflands which were per-
ceived from the Solide, at the fame time that the
northern coaft of Banc a was in fight, the one
bore north by wefl:, and the other, north-north-
wefl: half north from Point Pesant (Tong Ma-
cooDA,) at the difl:ance of about thirteen leagues
from this point *•
Captain
* The remarks made by Captain Chanal, who navigated by
D* Après* chart, and could not be acquainted with that which
George Robert/on did not publifli till 1791, leads us to conceive
that the I'^rench chart is defeftive in this part ; and we, are con-
firmed in this opinion if we call our eyes on the Englifh chart,
which is conftruâed from the various obfervations made on board
the
Bec. 1791.] ^fARCHAND*S VOYAGE*
Captain Marchand weighed anchor at half
paft feven o'clock in the morning, and with a
breeze
the Eaft India company's (hips that trade to China, On this
are feen two iilands, the former, under the name of Pulo-Toty
to the eaft, the latter, to the weft, under the name of Docan^
both fituated at the diftance of fourteen leagues from the eaftern
extremity of Point Fefant of Banca, The bearings differ, as
is feen, about a point from thofe which were taken on board
the Solide^ and the diftance is the fame, within a mile : but
Point Pe/ant is not a mathematical point ; and, according to the
part that was fet of it, if it lie more to the eaftward or more to
the weftward, the bearings of the iflands which are determined
from it muft experience a change : the diftance muft be Icfs
afFe»5led by it ; and, indeed, that which was eftimated on board
the Solide, and that given by Robertfon's chart, differ from each
other but a league. On D* Après' chart, Pulo-Toty ftands alone,
at fourteen leagues' diftance, to the north by weft of the eaftern
part of Point Pe/ant -, and nothing there indicates the Ifland of
Docan, which the Englifli chart places three leagues to the weft-
fouth-weft of Toty ; but to the north and the north by eaft of
the latter, at fix or feven leagues' diftance, D* Après places two
other iflands, Rtgaudïère and Saint Pierre, which are not to be
found on Robert/on's chart ; and thefe two iflands are placed, in
regard to each other, on the French chart, at the bearings and
at the diftance which the Englifli chart has given to Toty and
Docan. We are fully juftified in believing that, if we judge by
the names given to the Iflands Rigaudiere and Saint Pierre,
their pofition has been fixed according to the track of fome
French fliip that had a miftake in her reckoning. Robertfon's
chart appears to me to merit the preference to that of D'Après^
becaufe it prefents two routes, indicated by two fets of found-
ings, which pafs within two leagues of Pulo-Toty, and extend,
the former to the north-north-weft, rounding the eaftern part of
Toty, and the latter, to the north by weft : from the former,
Toty and Docan may both have been feen at the fame time ; and
the track paflfes only within five leagues of Point Pe/a?iî,
K 2 In
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. I79S.
breeze from the north by weft, he plied to wind-
ward, in hopes of reaching the northern entrance
of the Strait of Banc a. During the forenoon,
the foundings were from nineteen to eighteen
fathoms over a bottom of fand and ooze.
From the obfervation of the fun's meridian alti-
tude, it was concluded that, at noon, the latitude
of the fhip was i5^fouth5 and her longitude,
fixed according to the bearings of the land, was
103° 18'.
Had the fhip's place been deduced from the dead
reckoning brought forward from Pulo-Aor, her
In continuing to compare the two charts in this part, we re-
mark that Robert/on places an ifland called Porio-Bello, twenty-
two leagues to the eaft half north of Pulo-Tofyy and D'Après
lays down none.
If we carry our eyes farther to the weft-north- weft of Toty»
we fee that, on the French chart, Pulo-Tciya lies to the fouth
by weft 3 or weft, and at the diftance of ten leagues from
L'lngen Ifland ; and that, on the Englifti chart, the bearing is
fouth, and the diftance eight leagues only. This latter chart
prefents a track, which muft have pafTed within fight of thefe
two points, and which, no doubt, has ferved to fix their rela-
tive pofition.
As Pulo-Toty and Pulo-Taya are leading marks for (hips
which, in order to get out of the China Sea, ft and either for the
Strait of Banca, or for that between Banca and Bilîito?iy I have
thought tiiat it would be ufeful to make known to French navi-
gators who are not provided with Rohert/on's chartf the differences
that are to be remarked between this chart, and that of D'Après,
of which they make ufe : it will be for them to verify, when
they may find an opportunity of fo doing, which of the two
charts, in this part, merits a preference.
latitude
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
latitude would have been only 0° 20' fouth, and lon-
gitude 102® 57": in comparing this latter pofition
of the fhip with the former, it is feen that, in the
interval of two days and a half, the currents had
carried her near a degree to the fouthward, and
more than a third of a degree to the eaftward. .
As it was perceived, at half paft three o'clock
in the afternoon, that the currents were contrary
to the route. Captain Marchand determined to
come to an anchor at three leagues' diftance from
the northern coaft of Banc a, in (Ixteen fathoms
water, over a bottom of fand, gravel and fhells.
The latitude of the anchorage, deduced, by the
dead reckoning, from- that at noon, was i*^ 23'
fouth, and her longitude 103** 27'.
During the night, the wind blew frefh from the
north-weft to the north, accompanied with fqualls.
The velocity of the current was eftimated at a
mile an hour. ,
The part of the Ifland of Banc a which our navî»
gators had coafted, is of a middling height : but,
towards Point Pesant, the moft northern point of-
it, are diftinguifhed fome hillocks more elevated
than the reft of the ground.
On the 19th, Captain Marchand got under
way in the courfe of the forenoon, but he was
obliged to anchor a fécond time ; he made ufelefs
efforts to reach the entrance of the Strait of Banc a,
and experienced rather ftrong currents, fome of
which fet to the eaft-north-eaft, others to the eaft,
K 3 and
134 marchand's voyage. [Dec. 179
and others to the eaft-fouth-eafl. He parted a
cable in this fécond anchorage, where the fliip
pitched very heavily, and he was obliged to leave
the anchor behind.
Perfuaded that it would be in vain to perfift in
ftruggling againft thefe obftacles, he renounced the
idea of going out of the China Sea by the Strait
of Banc A, and he determined to fail out by ano-
ther lirait fituated more to the eaftward, between
the Ifland of Banca and that of Billiton.
This ftrait, little frequented by the French, is
known under the names of Caspar's, Billiton's,
or Clements* Strait. Captain Marchanp was in
pofîelîion of no plan of this lirait but that which
is to be found on the flieet No. 48 of our Neptune
Oriental, under the title of Petit Plan du Détroit
A l'Est de Ban ça, par lequel a paffê un VaiJJeau
Efpagnoly commandé par le Sieur Caspar (no date) ;
but D'Après, in publifliing this plan, appeared to
doubt its corre6lnefs i and, in his failing directions,
he gives notice that it would be imprudent to enter
this ftrait, till it is better known. Since the time
of this publication, feveral French and Englifli
fbips, inllead of pafllng through the Strait of
Banca, have taken thçir route, in order to get
out of the China Sea, or to enter it, by the Strait
Between Banca and Billiton. This ftrait is
divided into two arms by an ifland, to which its
fituation has occafioned to be given the name of
Middle Island: the West Passage is properly
Caspar's
Dec. 1791.] ' marchand's voyage. • 13^
Gaspar's Strait; becaufe it is that by which the
Spanifh navigator, who has given us the firfl; plan
of it, had pafled : the East Passage, which pre-
fents feveral praticable channels between the fmall
iflands, is called Clements* Strait, becaufe, in
1781, an Englifh captain of that name, command-
ing a fleet of Indiamen, is the firfl: known navigator
who attempted to go out of the China Sea by
this paflTage. A chart of the flrait Between
Banca and Billiton was conftru6led in 1784
^nd 1785, by Dor de lin, a lieutenant in the French
navy, who paflTed through this fl:rait, both in going
to China and on his return. This manufcript
chart, which belongs to the Dépôt Général des Caries y
Pîansy et Journaux de la Marine^ was not publiflied
at the time, becaufe Dordelin, too fcrupulous, in
regard to his own labours, and fearing to expofe
the fafety of fliips that might dired their courfe
by his chart, judged that it ought not to be ren-
dered public, till a farther verification had enabled
him to improve it : this chart, although not per-^
fed: in all its parts, was far fuperior to the defec-
tive plan of the Spanifh navigator, on whofe word
Dordelin had not been afraid to attempt the
paflfage from the fouthward, in a contrary direction
to Gaspar, who had found it in coming from the
northward. Since then, Alexander Dalrymple,
on the one hand, and George Robertson, on the
other, have publifhed various plans and charts of
this flirait, confl:ru6ted at different times by Englifh
K 4 navigators i
136 MARCliAND'o \'OYAGE, [DeC. Ijgu
navigators ; and Dalrymplj; has printed in his
valuable Colleâiion of nautical Memoirs refpedling
the Seas of Jfia^ the journals of the captains of his
nation to whom we are indebted for the plans and
charts of which we are in poffeffion.
But thefe plans and charts are little known in
France, and Captain Marchand, reduced, as
I have faid, to the neceffity of having recourfe to
the Hiapelefs plan of Caspar, in order to dired
his route in a lirait, againft which the French navi-
gators were likely to be prepoffefled, hefitated not,
however, to enter it, and feized with ardour the
opportunity of juftifying or deftroying the uneafi-
nefs that D'Après' failing diredlions mull occa-
fion refpedting the fafety of a paflage, which, in
his time, was, as it were, only fufpeéled : fuccefs
has proved that this uneafinefs was not well-
founded.
As it is to he prefumed that the lirait Between
Banca and BilLiton, at this day well known
by the repeated trials of Englifh and French navi-
gators, will henceforth be preferred, on account of
Its advantages, and in all cafes, to the long and
dangerous Strait of Banca, I have thought that
it would be of fome utility to the officers in our
navy and merchant-fervice, to trace minutely the
track which the Solide followed in pafling through
Caspar's Strait ^ to report the obfervations of
latitude which were made in the paflage, and to
indicate the principal bearings that were taken
from
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
^37
from the places where, in order to flop tide, the
fliip was forced to come to an anchor, Thefe
details will be comprehended more eafily, if the
reader will follow them with the chart before
him*.
On the 20th, at half paft feven o'clock in the
evening, the Solide got under way from the
fécond anchorage which fhe had been obliged to
take up in fight of the northern coaft of Banca;
and Captain Marchand could not but congratu -
late himfelf on having quitted it 3 for it was difco-*
vered, when the anchor was weighed, that the
cable was ftranded near the clinch; and it was
judged that if the Ihip had remained longer expofed
to the violence of the pitching which flie had
experienced during the night, the cable would ine-
vitably have parted, and occafioned the lofs of a
fécond anchor.
On the 2 1 ft, at three quarters paft fix in the
evening, Çaptain Marchand anchored to the
north-weft of the entrance of Caspar's Strait, in
fourteen fathoms, over a bottom of mud, gravel,
and broken ftiells, after having pafled between
four breakers fituated to the north- weft and north
by weft of the eaft coaft of the Ifland of Banc a 5
the fartheft is fifteen leagues diftant from this point,
and the neareft, twelve. Point Brisée (Tong
Ryott) of the fame ifland, fituated between Point
* See the Charts, Nos. VII and VIII,
P£SANT
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. ïjgî»
Pesant (Ton g Macooda) and the East Point,
bore, from the anchorage, weft-fouth-wefl, four or
five leagues' diftance.
On the 2 2d, the fhip was under fail at fifty-
minutes pad feven in the morning, and (leered
fouth-fouth-eaft half eaft ; the foundings were con-
ftantly fourteen fathoms, with a bottom of fand
and gravel, mixed with broken lliells.
At forty minutes paft nine o'clock, a fmall
ifland, furrounded by breakers, and fituated more
to the offing than three others, lying all together
on a line, to the eaft and eaft by fouth of Point
Brisée, bore weft-fouth-weft.
From that moment, Captain Marchand fteered
fouth-eaft by fouth i and the lead indicated from
thirteen to fourteen fathoms, with the fame kind
of bottom as that which had been found in thé
morning.
At eleven o'clock, Caspar Ifland, which is
fituated nearly under the fame meridian as Middle
Ifland, and eight or nine leagues north of its north
point, was perceived from the maft-head : it bore
eaft fouth. A quarter of an hour after, the
extremities of a remarkable mountain on the Ifland
of Banca, ferving as a leading mark for its East
point, which lies to the eaft 9 or 10° north, and
at about the diftance of feven leagues from this
mountain, bore from fouth 13° weft to fouth 42®
weft.
At noon, the east point of Banca bore fouth
43° eaft.
Dec. 1791-] marchand's voyage. 139
43® eaft, and the middlç of Caspar Ifland,
dircélly eaft: io this fituation, the latitude ob-
ferved was 2° 21'; and, allowing for the adbion of
the currents, it was eftimated that the longitude of
the ihip might be 104° 12^5 which would carry
that of Caspar Ifland, the diftance from which
was reckoned twenty-eight or twenty-nine miles,
to 104° 40'.
Captain Marchand fleered eaft-fouth-eaft half
eaft : the lead continued to indicate twelve, four-
teen, and fixteen fathoms water, till one o'clock
in the afternoon when it fliewed twenty fathoms^
over a bottom of fand and gravel : he began to
perceive the firft of the iflots of Rocher-Navire
(Tree Island) fituated between the east point
of Banca and Caspar Ifland,
At three quarters paft two, another of the iflots
of Tree-Island, the fouthern iflot, bore, one
line with the fouth point of Caspar Ifland eaft
23^ north : a chain of rocks was difcovered be-
tween this fécond iflot and the firft. At the fame
time, a fmall iflot was difcovered to the fouth-
ward of the east point of Banca.
Captain Marchand fteered fouth-eaft half fouth
till three o'clock : from half paft one, he had car-
ried with him twenty and twenty-one fathoms
water, with the fame kind of bottom as in the
preceding foundings.
At three o'clock, the east point of Banca
bore fouth 53° wefts Caspar Ifland, north 53''
eafti
f 40 MARCHAND's VOYAGE, [Dec.
eaft J and the firft-mentioned iÛot between that
ifland and the east point of the great ifland,
north 39"^ eaft.
He then fteered fouth by eaft, in order to get
vp with the peninftila of S,£l*, which, with the
fouth-weft point of Middle Ifland, forms the
narroweft part of the West Passage, Till four
o*clock, the foundings were ftill twenty-two,
twenty- three, and twenty-four fathoms. He then
difcovered the pcninfula of Sel, and the iflands
which are fituated in the eaft part of the (Irait.
The EAST point of Banca bore north 71° weft;
the NORTH-EAST extremity of the peninfula of
Sel, fouth 32** weft.
It was perceived that the currents carried the
fhip to the eaftward of her courfe ; and, in order
to counterbalance their effe6t, and draw more in
with the peninfula of Sel, by entering the paflage.
Captain Marchand fteered fouth by weft. At
a quarter paft four, the lead announced that the
water was flioaling; there were no more than
eighteen and feventeen fathoms ; but it kept at this
depth, and the bottom was conftantly gravel and
ftiells,
* Several charts or plans have defignated as an ifland the land
which, on Caspar's Plan, bears the denomination of the He de
Sel: it is at this day admitted that it is only a peninfula, con-
nedled with the Ifland of Banca by a flip of land fo low as not
to be always perceived from the diftance at which the reef, that
terminates this land to the eaftward, requires that ftiips fliould
keep from ît.
Dec. 1791.] marchand's voyage. 141
As the currents fet rapidly to the fouth-fouth-
eaft, at five o'clock. Captain Marchand (leered
fouth-fouth-vvcfl half fouth : the foundings were
feventecn fathoms, with the fame kind of bottom,
till fix o'clock, when the east point of Banca
bore north 23° 30' weft^ Caspar Ifland, north
17° eaft; the moil eaftern of the fmall iflands
fituated to the northward of the peninfula of Sel,
fouth 81° wefti the norh-east point of the pe-
ninfula, fouth 77° 30' weft, and its south-east
point, fouth 15"^ weft.
The Solide was then beginning to enter the
paflage between Middle Ifland and the peninfula
of Sel : Captain Marchand fteered fouth half
caft, under cafy fail, till forty minutes after fix,
when he came to an anchor in feventeen fathoms
water, over a bottom of fand and fine gravely
mixed with broken ftiells.
During the night, the wind varied from north-
weft to weft-north- weft, the currents fet to the
fouth-fouth-eaft, and then to the fouth, at the rate
of a mile and a half or two miles an hour.
From the anchorage, the hummock on the east
point of Banca bore north 21^ weft; Caspar
Ifland, north 13° 30^ eafts the peninfula of Sel,
from fouth 22° weft to weft 1° fouth ; the fouth-
weft extremity of Middle Ifland fouth 84° caft;
and four fmall iflands which were perceived to the
fouth'Caft and fouth-fouth-eaft of this Jaft-men-
7 tioned
i^^ marchand's voyage. [Dec. i/f
tîoned ifland, from fouth 76® eaft to fouth 56*
caft.
The Solide was under fail at three-quarters
paft fix in the morning, and fteered fouth half
eaft ; but, a little time after, flie bore up fouth-
caft by fouth, and then diredled her courfe fouth-
fouth-eaft half-fouth. On the eaft coaft of the
peninfula of Sel, were diftinguifhed fome breakers
which appear to run a mile into the offing, and to
extend as far as the fouth point of this peninfula*
The depth of water kept increafing from feventeen
to twenty fathoms, with a bottom of fand and
gravel.
At twenty-two minutes paft feven, all the lands
in fight were fet by the compafs, in order that
their bearings might be laid down on the plan.
The south-east extremity of the peninfula of
Sel then bore fouth 54® weft. Captain Mar-
chand fteered fouth, and the foundings increafed
from twenty to twenty-four fathoms, with the fame
kind of bottom. He perceived more and more
the fouth part of the Ifland of Banc a, and was
on the point of being clear of the Strait. He
croffed fome ftrong ripplings of currents, v/hich,
at a diftance, might have been taken for chains of
breakers.
At twenty minutes paft eight, Middle Ifland
bore from north ii"" 30' eaft to north 32° eaft;
and the middle of the moft eaftern of the iflands
fituated
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. I43
fituatcd to the northward of the peninfula of Sel,
in one with the north-east point of the latter^
bore north 34° 30' weft.
From this point/ Captain Marchand fteered
fouth half weft : the water gradually fhoalcd from
twenty-four to twenty fathoms^ with the fame kind
of bottom.
At feven minutes paft nine o'clock, the iflots,
feven in number, which lie to the fouth-eaft and
fouth-eaft by eaft of Middle Illand, were partly
£hut in, the one by the other, in the diredlion of
north 43° eafti and the south-east point of the
peninfula of Sel bore north 53° 30' weft.
Till three quarters paft nine. Captain Mar«
CHAND fteered fouth-fouth-weft half fouth, and
the foundings were regular from twenty to feven-
teen fathoms. At this period, the extremities of
the eaftern coaft of the peninfula of Sel bore
from north 13° 30^ weft to north 44*^ 30' weft.
The Solide was then clear of the ftrrait, and
Captain Marchand hauled his wind, at the fame
time carrying a prefs of fail on the ftarboard tack.
At half paft ten o'clock, the ftiip fell ail at once
from feventeen fathoms into nine, with a bottom
of fand and gravel : this fudden diminution of the
depth of water obliged Captain Marchand to
navigate with precaution : he conftantly kept the
lead going ; it indicated the fame foundings, vary-
ing only from eight fathoms to nine, till half paft
J eleven
144
marchand's VOYAGE. [Dec. 179^
eleven o'clock, and from ten fathoms to eleven,
till noon.
At this lafl-mentioned period, no other lands
were perceived than rhofe to the fouthward of the
Ifland of Banc A, which extended from north-weft
half weft to north north-weft half north. The ob-
fervation of the fun's meridian altitude gave 3° 30'
fouth ladtude ; and, in allowing for the elFeâ: of
the currents, which, according to the refult of the
dead reckoning compared with that of the obfer-
vation, had carried the fhip 25 minutes to the
fouthward, in twenty-four hours, and which was
alfo reckoned to have carried her 1 1 minutes to
the eaftward, it was concluded that the longitude
muft be 104'' 28'.
The detail of Captain Marchandas navigation
in Caspar's Strait, fuch as I have juft reprefented
it, as it were, hour by hour, would be a fuffi-^
cient guide, by which navigators who Ihould wifh
to get out of the China Sea by this paflage,
might direél their courfe with fafety ; but, in order
to render more ufeful the remarks that were made
on board the Solide, Captain Chanal, aflbciat-
ing his nautical knowledge with the talents and
zeal of the Engineer Le Brun, who had embarked
in the fhip, for the purpofe of going from Macao
to the Ifle of France, carefully conftrufted a plan
of Caspar's Strait ; he fubjefted it, on the one
hand, to the latitude that was obferved on the 22d
in the parallel of Caspar Ifland, the principal
leadine:
ï)eC. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGÉ* ^ I45
leading mark of the two paffages for fliîps coming
from the northward, and that which was obferved
on the 23d on coming out of the Strait, the fhip
being clear of all land 5 and on the other hand,
to numerous bearings that were taken in the dif-
ferent fituations,, under fail or at anchor : he has
accurately laid down on the plan all the found-
ings that were taken, from the moft northern
point of the Ifland of Banc a to the parallel of
its fouth coaft j and each founding has been placed
at the point of that track which the bearings
have determined*.
Captain Chanal was not able to extend his
work beyond Caspar's pafifage ; and, in order to
complete his chart, he copied from that of D'Après
the EAST paflage between Middle Ifland and the
Ifland of B1LLITON5 but he took care to give
notice that he was very far from vouching for the
correftnefs of this borrowed part 5 and this notice
was the better timed, as the eaftern part of the
chart publiflied by D'Après as unwarranted, is
defedtive in every point, and as the wefl: part is
fcarcely more correâ: : moft affuredly there would
be lels danger for a fhip to attempt the paffage
* I have conceived that it was ufelefs to tranfcribe all the
bearings which were taken on board the Solide, from the time
that (he was within light of the north point ©f Bancu till after
ihe came out of the Strait ; I have laid down thofe only which
appeared to me ufeful for fixing the relative politions of the prin-
cipal points.
VOL, II,
from
%iê MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. ^791/
from the mere infpeélion of the land, and with the
precautions that are employed in a voyage of dif-
covery, than to truft to a plan fuch as that of
Caspar, which could only lead the navigator into
error.
I have been of opinion that the chart which
was confbru6led on board of the Solide would
become ftill more ufeful, if, in order to complete
it, ufe were made of the work of the Englifh^
who have given us feveral tracks in the Wcfl
PaiTage, and others in the Eafi: PalTage, marked
on authentic plans, fome of which have been pub-
lilhed by Alexander Dalrymple in his valuable
colledion, and others by George Robertson. î
have combined together fix different plans, two of
which belong to the French, and four to the Eng*
lifli ; and I think I may venture to affirm, that the
General Chart which I prefent muft have all the
correctnefs that can refult from the information
which we have, till this day, acquired refpe6ling
the two paffages or ftraits that prefent themfelves
to Ihips of all rates between the Ifland of Banc a
ônd that of Billiton: I refer the reader to the
Notes for the examination and analyfis of the
materials which I have employed in the conflruc-
tion of this new chart*. It was not without
concern
* See Note LXII. This note contains nota mere geographi-
cal analyfis and the difcuflion of the materials which have been
employed
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. 1^7
concern that I found myfelf under the necefTity of
criticifing fome of the plans which the Englifli
have given us ; but, in not always adopting their
opinions and their plans, we cannot, while we arc
combating them, avoid acknowledging that their
bold voyages into every fea, and their numerous
labours concerning every coaft, have long fmce
acquired them incontellable claims on the grati-
tude of all navigators : and if criticifm be fevere
employed in the conftruftion of the General Chart of the Strait
let'ween Banca and Bilïiton, comprehending Ga/par's and Cle-
ments* Straits, with the different palTages which bothprefent ; it
iikewife contains a minute defcription of the two ftraits, as well
as failing diredions for the navigation of the two palfages. I
have laid under contribution the journals of feveral Englifli na-
vigators, which have not been tranflated into our language, and
with whofe names even our navigators were not acquainted :
their obfervations are valuable, and deferved to be colleded ; to
thefe I have added thofe of our Captains Dordelin and Chanal,
and I have formed of the whole a regular work, the ground of
which does not belong to me, and of which I have only arranged
the parts, in order to connect them together by comparing the
reports of the different navigators, ftrengthening them the one by
the other when they agree, and oppofing them to each other when
they are at variance. This work may, with French feamen^
fupply the place of a great number of foreign journals which
would afford them, befides, only ufelefs repetitions. I lhali
have accomplifhed my objeft, if, in prefenting to them the
Straits Betnveen Banca and Billiton as preferable to the Strait
of Banca as well for fnips returning from China as for thofe
going thither, I have furnifhed them with the information ne-
ceffary for navigating there with fafety, by direding their courfe
according to the tracks of the experienced navigators who have
opened the way^
14B
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. l/glV^
when the queftion is to examine their produdlions,
it is becaufe it may be feared that their weighty
authority will too eafily accredit errors.
I have already faid that D'Apres, in publifli-
ing the Plan of Caspar's Pafifage, fuch as it had
been communicated to him, judged that it was-
prudent to diffuade navigators from entangling
themfelves betv/een the Iflands of Banc a and
BîLLiTONi and he thought it incumbent on him
to advife them to continue to take their route
through the Strait of Banca j but the experiment
of the Solide, and previoufly that of the Triton,
the Provence, and the Sagittaire under the
command of Dordelin, that of the Englifh fhips,
the Macclesfield, the Sulivan, the Hawke,
the Ponsborne, the Warren Hastings, the
Carnatic, the Vansittart, theGLATTON, and
her fleet under the orders of John Clements, &Co
rnufl difpel for ever the fears that were maintained,
and with reafon, by the impofing authority of 3
learned navigator, who, from a long acquaintance
with the fcas of Asia, and great labours, executed
with fuccefs, for improving the hydrography and
facilitating the navigation of them, had acquired
the right of fpeaking as a mafter, and of caufing
himfelf to be heard with attention. No doubt, his
opinion would have changed, and he would have
been eager to amend his decifion, had he been
acquainted with tracks which have been followed
only fubfequently to his work and his death : he
would
Dec. lygi'l MARCH AN d's voyage.
would have judged that a pafTage on a flraight
line and very ftiort, like that of Caspar, in
which, throughout, if the wind be not favourable
to the courfe, or if it be wiflied to pafs the night
at anchor, a fhip may come to in a good depth
of water, and on a good bottom, deferves every
preference to a long and winding paflage, fuch as
that of Banca, the entrance of which, in coming
from China, it is difficult to reach with the winds
necefTary for engaging in it ; in which the different
diredlions of the lands require different winds for
pairing from one branch to another -, and which
prefents, on leaving it, fhoals and over- falls that
obftrud navigation and multiply its dangers.
Clements' Pafîage, the moft eaftern of the two
ftraits that are comprifed between the Iflands of
Banca and Billiton, affords, in many refpeds,
the fame advantages as that of Gaspar, through
which Captain Marchand paffedj but fhips
coming from , the weftward, will prefer the latter
of the two ftraits ; and thofe coming from the
eaftward will alfo prefer it, if the wind allow of
their fo doing; for Clements' Strait, in the nar-
roweft part, is ftrewn with iflots, banks, and fhoak,
which, indeed, are moftly vifible, and near which
is found a good bottom fit for anchoring, but
which, however, may occafion fome uneafmefs
and embarraffment in a confined pafîage, where
the adion of the currents is commonly very vio-
kntj and where navigators muft experience fudden
L 3 variations
marchand's voyage. [Dec. 1791.
variations in their direction, in proportion as they
prefent themfelves at the opening of the numerous
channels which the banks and iflots form between
them, and according to the time and the fetting of
the tides. But Clements* Paflage, obftruded as
it is, appears to be frequented by the Engjifh -, and
this is a ftrong reafon for believing that its navi-
gation is not dangerousj fmce they have the choice
between the two paflages. I am perfuaded, how-
ever, that a navigator who neither has ufed the
one nor the other, will, on an infpedlion of the
chart, give the preference to Caspar's Paflage :
but, unqueftionably, he will prefer either to the
Strait of Banc a, if, in coming from China, he
■wifh to arrive more expeditioufly and more fafely
in the Strait of Sun da; or if, coming from
Europe, and after having paiTed this laft-men-
tioned ftrait, he wifh to proceed with greater
difpatch to the coaft of China whither his trade
calls him.
On the afternoon of the îzjd. Captain Mar-
chand, after having doubled to the fouthward all
the lands which form Caspar's and Ci-ements'
Straits, and wifliing to make the Ifland of Suma-
tra, off the fmall iflands called the Two Bro-
thers, dire^led his courfe towards the Strait of
S UN DA, (landing on clofe to the wind which blew
from the north-weft quarter. During the whole
day, the foundings were conftantly ten fathoms,
at firft a bottom of fine gray fand^ then oozy fand;
and
Dec. 1791.]
marchand's voyage.
and they afterwards increafed to twelve fathoms.
He anchored feveral times in this run, when, a
calm coming on, he was apprehenfive that the
currents might drive the fliip out of her courfe.
On the 25th, at half pad twelve o'clock atnoon,
he got fight of the coafl: of Sumatra, at the
diftance of fix or feven leagues. The latitude
obferved at noon, had been 4° 25^ fouth ; and in
comparing it with that by the dead reckoning, it
was difcovered, that, fince noon of the preceding
day, the currents had carried the fliip 17 minutes
or near fix leagues to the fouthward. It was
reckoned that the longitude deduced from that of
Point Pes ant on the north fide of Banc a, was,
at the moment when Supjatra was perceived^
103° 44', and the latitude, 4° 26^ j the fhip was
then in twelve fathoms water.
Captain Marchand paiTed the night at anchor^
and weighed at half paft fix o'clock the next morn-
ing. Half an hour after he had got under fail
again, he difcerned the ifiands called Les Deux
Sœurs which he had intended to make; and
they bore fouth-weft at the diftance of two or three
leagues.
He concluded from the latitude of 5^ 4' ob-
ferved at noon, and from the bearing that was
taken at the fame moment, that Les Sœurs, the
* Thefe are the fame ifiands that are named or the Englifh
charts the Two Brothers.
L 4 moil
1^2 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [DcC. I79I.
moft fouthern of which bore fouth-weft, diftant
one league, are fituated in latitude 5"^ 6' : the longi-
tude of the fhip was then 103° 36'. The middle
of thefe two iflands is placed on the chart; No. 47,
of D'Après' Neptune Oriental^ in latitude and
their diftance from the coaft of Sumatra, which
is feven leagues on this chart, appears to be too
confiderable j it is reckoned that it might be re-
duced to five.
From within fight of Les Deux Sœurs till he
made Point St. Nicholas in the Ifland of Java,
at the entrance of the Strait of Sun da, calms and
contrary winds obliged Captain Marchand to
anchor repeatedly : it was not till the 31ft, in the
afternoon, that he reached the entrance of the
lirait ; but the wind not permitting him to weather
the rock fituated in the middle of the paflage be-
tween Middle Ifland and Toe a or Hog's Point
in the Ifland of Sumatra, he came to an anchor
off PuLO Remow, or Long Ifland, three-quarters
of a mile from the land, in thirty fathoms water,
over a bottom of gravel and fliells. In this fitua-
tion. Middle Ifland bore from fouth-eafl: to
fouth-fouth-eafl; fouth ; the peak of Cracatoa
Ifland, fouth-wefl: half weil ; the G« and Toque,
caft-fouth-eafl -, and the rock in the middle of
-the paflTage, fouth half wefl:.
On the ifl: of January i 792, at half paft feven
o'clock in the morning, the fliip fet fail for the
Ifle of France.
For
Jan. i792'l marchand's voyage. 153
For a few days the contrariety of the winds
allowed not of her increafing her diftance from the
vicinity of the ftrait ; at length, on the afternoon
of the 4th, Captain Marchand took his depar-
ture from Prince's Ifland, fituated to the north-
ward of the weft point of Java, at the mouth of
the ftrait, and, according to aftronomical obferva-
tions, in 6^36' 15" fouth latitude, and 102^55
eaft longitude
On the I ith, at half paft four o'clock in the
afternoon, the latitude of the fhip deduced by the
dead reckoning from that which had been given
by the obfervation of this fame day at noon, was
II® 37' 10''; and her longitude deduced, by ac-
count, from that of Prince's Ifland, 95° 14 15''.
At that moment, a low land was perceived to
the fouth-fouth-eaft, at the diftance of fix leagues.
From this bearing, the land in fight muft have
been fituated in latitude 1 1^ 54'', and longitude
95^ 21' 15'': it was judged that it could be no
other than the largeft of the Iflands of Cocos, that
group of fmall iflands thrown at about the diftance
of a hundred and fixty-five leagues to the fouth-
weft of Flat Point, the moft fouthern of the Ifland
of Sumatra ; but, at the fame time, it was con-
' eluded that there was an error in the diftance efti-
* Conno'îjfmce des Temfs (Ephemeris.) An VIIL de l*Ere
f ran^aife (j8oo.)
mated
$^4 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Jan. 179*,
mated by the eye, from the fliip to thefe iflands*,
and an error in the dead reckoning fmce (he had
quitted Prince's Ifland 3 for, according to adro-
nomkal obfervations, the large Ifland of Cocos is
fituated in latitude i 2^ 1 1', and longitude 94"^ j'f.
The
* It might aîfo be fuppofcd that there was. an error in the
latitude obferved on board the fhip ; but it is more probable that
the diftance from the (hip to thefe iflands had been incorredîy
cftimated by the eye, an error which is i^ery common.
f This is the longitude which is to be found in the Co^^
itaijance des Temps QÎ tlfc year VIIL of the French era (1800)
and the preceding years : it is there indicated as deduced from
îunar obfervations made at fea ; and is prefented as the fituation
of the middle of the largeji of the tjlmids.
G. Rohertfon gives us, refpeding thefe Iflands of Cocos^ a detail
which deferves to be mentioned : it is engraved in Englifh at the
bottom of his Chart of the China Sea»
Memorandum for Jhips leading Java Head (the moft weftern
part of the Ifland of Java) for Europe.
" The true fituation of the Kell'mg or Cocos Iflands, deter,
mmed by an exadl Arnold' % box-chronometer, in a fhort run
from fa-va Head, and corroborated by three fets of lunar ob-
fervations, objefts eaft and well.
" The northernmoft is a fingle low ifland, in latitude 11° 50'
fouth, longitude 8° i' weft of Ja<vn Head, or 97° 8' eaft from
Greeitnjokh {94° 47 ''45^^ eaft from Farts)-, and it lies due
** north from the moft weftern of the clufter of iflands, diftant
" 14 miles. Between them is a fair paflage, which in the Ge-^
neral Coote, Captain Baldivln, we paflJed through.
The fouthernmoft are a circular clufter of low iflands, whofe
** latitude is from i z'^ 4' to 1 2° 23' fouth. Their eaftern extreme
7'^ 50' weft of fa<va Heady 97^ 19' eaft from Gree7i%v:ch
(94° 58' 45'' eaft from Greenivich) ; and their weftern extreme
" under the meridian of the moft northern ifland," that is to
" fay, 97° 8' from Green^wich (04° 47' 45" from Paris,)
<^ la
Jan. 1792 •] MARCHAND'S VOYAGE. i^/j
The error of nearly 1 7 minutes in the latitude which
the bearing, deduced from the latitude of the ïhip,
gave, to the Ifland of Cocos, proves that the dif-
tance eftimated from the veflel to that ifland was
not fufEciently great ; and the difference of 1° i
15'' in the longitude,^ proved that, from Prince's
Ifland, whofe longitude is likewife determined hy
obfervation, the calculation of the run made by
the fliip, in the fpace of feven days, was in error
all this quantity, which flie had been carried to
the weftward by the movement of the waters,
without the ordinary methods of navigation hav-
ing been able to furniih any means of eflimating
its efFeél,
In ranging along the north part of the clufter of iflandsj
*' faw no danger detached from thenij being fteep-to clofe into
the Ihore, which is a beautiful white beach appearing like
fand, but which I believe is white coral.
" A reef runs out from the north-weft corner of thefe iflands
a Ihort quarter of a mile, and thcj may be feen in clear wea^
ther, from an Indiaman's deck, five leagues."
Signed, G. R» f George Robert/on. J
Rohertfon, in his Table of Pofitions (page 79 of his Memoir)
gives the longitude of Ja^ua Head 105° 9'eaft of Green'wkhi
it is only 105° 5' according to the obfervations made in Cooi^s
Third Voyage {page 351 of the Original Afironomlcal Obfer^
watlom^ &c.) : and if we adopt this latter determination, the
longitudes of the Cocqs Iflands muft be diminilhed by 4 minutes.
N. E. I'here is an error of the prefs in the Colledion of
Obfervations, which I have juft quoted. We there read, 'Janja
the mofi eailerly Rolnt of the Straits of Sunda ; read the mofi
wefteriy Pû/«/, &c.
Fcom
Îj6 MARCH AN VOYAGE. [Jan. I792,
From the Ifland of Cocos, the Solide direded
htr courfe weft- fouth- weft, in order to get into
the parallel of Rodrigue Ifland, from which Cap-
tain Marchand wiftied to take a frefti departure
before he ftood for the Ifle of France.
On the 1 6th, a little before nine o'clock in the
fnorning, in the latitude of 15*^ 47' 15'' fouth, the
Hi^an between the refults of feveral obfervations
of diftances of the fun and moon, gave for the
longitude of the ftiip 85® 1 5" ; that which was de-
duced, at the fame inftant, from the dead reckon-
ing fince the departure from Prince's Ifland, was
S6°45'; thus, in the fpace of twelve days, the
fum of the errors of the reckoning was a degree
and a half, which the fliip had advanced more to
the weftward than was fuppofed. And as, when
She was in fight of the Ifland of Cocos, on the
Î ith, the error in the fame dire61:ion was only 1° i 8^
it might thence be inferred that, from the i ith to
the 16th, the error had increafed 12 minutes ^ but
this inference would imply, that we grant to the
refuît of the lunar obfervations fo great a degree of
accuracy that they may be employed with fafety
in correéling fmall errors. What we may folely
conclude, is that, from the 4th, when the fliip
took her departure from Prince's Ifland, to the
ï6th, the day of the laft lunar obfervations, flie
was conftantly carried to the weftward by the efl^eét
of the currents -, and that the quantity of this un-
perceived progref^i wjis^ about a degree and a half
in
Jan. 1792.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. î,57
in the interval of twelve days, or about eight miles
in twenty-four hours.
On the 19th, at eight o*clock the morning, in
A 8*^ 37^ 20'' latitude fouth, the mean refult of four
fets of lunar obfervations fixed the longitude of
the fhip at 77° 59'; that which was indicated by
the dead reckoning, brought forward from the
obfervation of the i6th, was 78° 17": thus the
error in the interval had been i 8 minutes, or fix
miles in twenty-four hours, in the fame diredlioa
as the preceding ones.
Other lunar obfervations, made on the 27th,
at eleven o'clock in the morning, in latitude 19"^ 40',
gave 62^ 29' for the longitude; that which was
deduced from the dead reckoning, brought forward
from the obfervation of the 1 9th, was 63° 2 i' : the
error of the reckoning had therefore been, in the
fpace of eight days, 52 minutes, or fix miles and a
half in twenty-four hours, and fl:ill in the fame
diredion, the currents had conftantly fet the fhip
to the weftward, or ahead of the reckoning.
From the refult of the obfervations of that day^
Captain Marchand reckoned, at fix o'clock in
the evening, that he could not be more than feven-
teen or eighteen leagues from Rodrigue Ifland,
when it was perceived as far as it could be feen,
that is, at the di (lance of thirteen or fourteen
leagues: thus the error of the fhip's fituation by
account, with refpedl to her true fituation, was not
more than three or four leagues in a run of upwards
l^S MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Jail. 1792.
of eight hundred ; but it would have been about
fifty-leven leagues aftern^ that is to fay, he would
have met with Rodrigue Ifland fifty-feven leagues
iboner than was expedled, had he employed, for
regulating his courfe, only the arbitrary and uncer-
tain methods of the dead reckoning : for, in re-
capitulating the partial differences, arifmg, at va-
rious periods, between the refults of the dead
reckoning and thofe of the obfervations, we find
that the fhip had been carried 2° 40^ or about
one hundred and fifty miles ahead of the account,
and one hundred and fixty in adding thereto the
fmall error difcovered on makio.^ the land.
Hence it therefore refults, that the unperceived
progrefs of the fhip to the weilward, had been
(on an average) 7! miles in twenty- four hours.
This may be attributed to the effed of the currents,
which may have had a confiant diredion ; but
might it not alfo be confidered as the effed of
a general movement of the waters from eafl to
wefl, which is moft commonly eftimated, in an
open fea, between the tropics, at the rate of eight
or nine miles for each diurnal revolution of the
earth ?
1 have thought it incumbent on me not to
throw into the Notes the refuit of the obfervations
"which were made in the run from Macao to
Prince's Ifland (Strait of Sunda), and from the
Strait to Rodrigue Ifland: it is well known that
the currents have a confiderable influence in the
Indian
J^n. 1792.] marchand's voyage. 159
Indian Seas : their diredlon, which varies accord-.
ing to the feafons, fometimes in the fame feafoDj
requires all the attention of the navigator, becaufc
their adion has a material effed on the Ihip's
courfe, and may give rife to fatal errors, în pre--
fenting to feamen thefe runs with minutenefs^ 1
willied to enable them to appreciate the utiUty of
the lunar obfervations for the fafety of navigation
and the improvement of hydrography j the exam-
ple here (lands by the fide of the precept , and if
they perfift iii rejecting evidence^ if they repel
light, I fhall not at leaft have to reproach myfelf
"with not having made it fhine to their eyes.
Captain Marchand, after having made Ro-
drigue liland, direded his courfe towards the lile
of Frances and, on the 30th of January, the
Solide anchored in the principal port in the ifland
fituated on the north-west coaft.
The run from Prince's Ifland had lafted twenty-
fix days, and the^mean progrefs of the ûïip had
been thirty- five leagues one-third in twenty- four
hours.
The Ihip had kept the fea for thirteen months
and a half 5 and, with the exception of thirty days
fpent at anchor at La Pray a. La Madre de
Dios, Tchinkitanay, and Macao, flie had been
conftantly under fail. The health of the crew, did
not appear to be impaired by the fatigues of this
long voyage j but, in order to return to the port
-:i Europe from which the ihip had been dif-
I patched
t€o MARCH AN r)*s VOYAGE. [Jan* 1792*
patched, there remained three or four thoufand
leagues for her to run, which might occupy four
months: the relaxation neceflary for preventing
diforders, the repairs to be made to the fliip, the
examination and the renewal of the provifions, the
purchafe, the taking on board, and the ftowage of
merchandifej in fhort, all the preparatives of a
long voyage required that Captain Marchand
fliould Ipend two months and a half at the Ifle
of France.
CHAPTER
April 1792.] marchand's voyage.
161
CHAPTER IX,
Departure from the Ifle of France. — The Solide
touchés at the Ifle of Bourbon, now called the Ifle
of Réunion, in order to load there with coffee. — ■
Run from that ifland to St. Helena. — Stay at this
latter ifland, — Directions for anchoring in its road. —
Various confiderations reffe5fing St, Helena. — Ad-
vantages of its ftuation^ and of that of Gihr altar ^ to
the nation which occupies thofe two rocks. — Naviga-
tion from St, Helena to the Strait ^/Gibraltar. —
l^he Solide returns to Toulon. — On the length of
voyages round the JVorld-^ and the means zvhich might ,
fhorten it. — Praifes due to the owners of the fhip^
to the Captain^ and to the officers. — Utility of the
7iew methods for determining at fea the pofition of the ^
ftjip.
TT was on the i8th of April that the Solide got
un4er way from Port Nord-ouest in the
Ifle of France, in order to return to Europe,
calling at the Ifle of Bou.rbon, now denominated
the Ifle of Réunion, where fl"ie was to take in a
cargo of coffee.
On the 20th, Captain Marchand came to at
the anchorage of St. Denis; and, on the evening
of the 2 1 ft, he again got under fail, and direded
his courfe to make the coaft of Africa, and
double the Cape of Good Hope.
VOL, II. M This, •
m'archand's voyage. [April 1792.
This run, like that which preceded it, prefents,
concerning the elfe6b of the currents and the errors
of the reckoning, feveral obfervations, which, not-
withflanding the little intereO: that details of this
fort can afford to the generality of readers, have
appeared to me to deferve, for the inftru6lion of
feamen and the improvement of navigation, to be
mentioned at fome length, referring to myfelf to
extend, in the Notes, fuch of thefe obfervations as
may appear neceflary.
On the 28th, the longitude of the fhip deduced
from lunar obfervations, and reduced to noon, was,
by a mean between four fets, 42° 44' : that which
was given by the, dead reckoning, deduced from
the Iile of Réunion, whole geographical pofition
is determined by aftronomical obfervations ^, was
44° 51': thus, in the fpace of feven days, the fliip
had been carried to the weft ward, or ahead of her
apparent run, 2° y\ or thirty- eight leagues and
a half f.
The daily errors in the direélion of the latitude,
afcertained by obfervation, were no lefs remarka-
ble : from the 24th to the 25th, the fhip had been
carried 34 minutes, or eleven leagues and two
thirds, to the fouthward ; and during the laft two
^days, file had been carried 9 and. 12 minutes to the
northward.
* Longitude of 6^/. Deftis 53° 10' o" eaft. Conno'ijfance d^i
^Teinps, ^« VIII.
+ Note LXIII.
The"
April 1792.] marchand's voyage. 163
The obfervations of the next day, the 29th, in
like manner reduced to noon, fliewed that, in the
laft twenty-four hours, the apparent progrefs of
the fhip towards the weft, had been again increafed
by the efFedl of the currents, 24 minutes or about
fix leagues ; and the obfervation of latitude indi-
cated that fhe had been carried to the northward
7 minutes, or two leagues one-third *.
She was again carried 13 minutes towards the
north, from the 29th to the 30th; 3 minutes in
the fame direction frôm the 30th of April to the
ift of May, and 11 minutes from the lil to the
2d ; but from the 2d to the 3d, Ihe was carried
33 minutes or eleven leagues to the fouthward.
For fome days, the weather did not allow of
pbfervations being made for the longitude ; and on
the 8th of May, at three o'clock in the afternoon,
our navigators had the firft fight of the coaft of
Africa in the vicinity of the Land of Natal off
Lagoa Bay : they could not have expeded to fee
it fo foon.
The bearings of the land, whofe pofition in
longitude, fubjeded to that of the Cape of Good
Hope, cannot be defective, fhewed, on the 9th,
at noon, that, fince the obfervations of the 29th,
in the fpace of ten days, the fhip had again been
carried i degree to the weftward, ahead of her ap-
parent progrefs towards this coaft f.
* See Note LXIV, f See Note LXV,
M ^ Thus
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [April I792.
Thus then, in the fpace of nineteen days, from
the time of the Solide's departure being taken
from the Ifle of Reunion to that of her making
the land on the coaft of Africa, there is a fum
of errors in longitude, of more than three degrees
and a half, or upwards of fixty leagues, which
Captain Marchand would have reckoned him-
felf diftant from the coaft when he got fight of it,
if the obfervations made fince the departure had
not correded this error by 2^ 30', and reduced
it to that of I degree, which had taken place in
the interval between the laft day of obfervation,
and that of making the land.
The errors in the latitude were confiderable du-
ring the latter days : from the 2d to the 3d, 33
minutes or thirty- three miles ; from the 4th to the
5 th, fix teen -, from the 5th to the 6 th, three ;
from the 6th to the 7th, four; from the 7th to the
9th, forty. The fum of thefe errors, in feven
days,* is 40', or one hundred miles, which the
ftiip had been carried to the fouthward beyond the
quantity indicated by the dead reckoning 3 this is
at the rate of fourteen miles two-thirds in twenty-
four hours : but the differences towards that fide
cannot be a matter of aftonifhment. The Ihip had
failed, in that fpace of time, at the opening of the
Mozambique Strait; and the direélion of this
ftrait, which is nearly north-north-eaft and fouth?
fouth-weft, muft determine that of aftrong current
the cffeft of which is felt at a diftance, and carries
vefiels
May 179s.] marchand's voyage.
vefTels to the fouthward, declining towards the weft,
according to the diredipn of the ftrait.
On the 9th, at noon, the latitude obferved was
33^ 33 ^ ^"^^ according to the bearing of the land,
the longitude muft have been 25° 57'.
At two o'clock, the change of the water an-
nounced that ground would be reached in founding :
at a quarter paft three, foundings were ftruck in
fcventy five fathoms, over a bottom of gravel and
rotten ftiells.
The coaft, at that moment, extended from north-
caft by north a* north to weft 4^ north ; and the
fliip's diftance from it might be five leagues.
A dreadful ftorm came on in the night of the 9th,
and lafted till the morning of the \ 2th. The vio-
lence of the wând, which varied from weft-north-
weft to weft, joined to the extreme agication of
an overgrown fea, would have expofed to the
greateft dangers a ftiip that had not poffeffed the
excellent qualities of the Solide. She was then
diredling her courfe to double the Cape of Good
Hope ; and it feemed that the confpired elements
were, in fome meafure, difpofed to juftify the old
name of Stormy Cape, which the Portuguefe
navigators, who firft attempted to double it, had
impofed on that famous promontory. This was
the feafon when the winter begins at the Cape ;
and it is well known that the Dutch did not fufFer
their Ihips to remain in Table Bay beyond the
1 5th of May : all their velTels were bound . to re-
M 3 pair,
i66
marchand's voyage. [May 179s.
pair, at that period, to False Bay, where they are
completely fheltered from the north- weft winds^
which blow with violence, often with fury, during
the whole winter. The Solide kept conftantly
lying to during the gale. Captain Chanal ob-
ferves, on this occafion, that when a Ihip joins
llrength to other qualities, to lie to appears to
him preferable to fcudding, according to the ex-
preflion of the Englifli feamen ; he reckons that
the ntuation of a (hip is rendered lefs critical, by
iying to : whereas in apparently avoiding danger,
by running before the wind and fea, a vefTel iâ
no lefs expofed to the ravages of the former, and
ilie runs the rifk of being overtaken and pooped
by the waves which prefs and precipitate them-
felves againft her ftern.
The weather, which cleared up on the morning
of the 1 2th, admitted of the land being perceived
to the northward ; and it was rather high : it was
judged to be Mountain Cape, fituated a hundred
leagues to the eaft by north of Cape Aiguillas.
A calm, which had fucceeded the gale, at a
quarter paft nine o'clock, allowed alfo of taking
lunar obfervations, the mean refult of which redu-
ced to noon, gave 21° 49' for the longitude, and
confirmed a great error in the reckoning, an error
which the fight of the land had already indicated :
according to the dead reckoning, deduced from
the refult of the obfervations of the 8th, the longi-
tude of the fhip muft have been 24° 48' i thus,
in
May 1792. J MARCH AN d's VOYAGE.
in the fhort fpace of four days, the error aftern
was 2° 59% or forty-nine leagues, which the fliip
had been carried to the weftward beyond what the
reckoning had implied.
If we recapitulate all the errors in the fame
diredlion fince the departure from the Ifle of
Réunion, on the 21ft of April in the evening, we
ihall find that the fum of thefe errors, in the
fpace of twenty days and a half, was 6° 30', or
about one hundred and twelve leagues *. When
we refled that navigation by account or dead reckon-
ings is ftill fubjed, at the end of the eighteenth
century, to fimilar miftakes, we ceafe to be afto-
nifhed that the geographical pofitions, given, after
paflages of feveral months, by the firft navigators
of the Great Ocean, to iflands of which they
made the difcovery, have been fomctimes five or
fiX hundred leagues in error. But ought we not
at the fame time, through the impulfe of juft gra-
titude, to pay a well-merited homage to the arts
and fciences, which, by withdrawing us from the
empire of arbitrary opinion, have furnifhed us with
fure means of guarding againft the dreadful efFedls
of an uncertainty, to which the moft fkilful feaman
in vain oppofed his knowledge and long expe-
rience.
* The Reader may convince himfelf of this, by cafting up the
fum of the errors aftern, from the 21ft of April to the 12th of
May. {See at the end of the Notes, the Table of the efeél
of the currents,)
M 4 The
i68
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [May 179a;
The errors in the latitude had, within thefe few
days, been no lefs remarkable than thofe in the
longitude : the obfervations fhewed that, from the
9th to the iith, the fhip had been carried to the
fouthward, i"^ ii' ; and from the nth to the 12th,
32 minutes; thus in the fpace of three days, the
fum of the errors in this diredion was 1^ 43^, or
thirty-four leagues one-third.
If we combine together the error of the longi-
tude, which was forty nine leagues, during thefe
lafl days, with that of the latitude, thirty-^four
leagues one-third, it will be found that, in the
fpace of three days, the fhip, driven out of her
apparent courfe by the movement of the waters,
was carried fixty leagues to the weft 3 5° fouth :
this is at the rate of twenty marine leagues in
twenty-four hours, or upwards of a common league
an hour * -, while, on the contrary, owing to the
natural confequence of the dire61:ion, and the vio-
lence of the wind which blew from the weft, vary-
ing towards the north, the fhip, lying to, ought
to have been drifted towards the eaft-fouth-eaft
and fouth-caft. We are therefore juftified in con-
cluding that, but for the refiftance which the di-
re6lion of the wind and waves muft have oppofed
to the aclion of the current, the efFeâ: of the latter
would have been ftill greater ; and it is, no doubt,
to the ftruggle of thefe oppofite powers, that muft
* See Note LXVI.
be
Ma^^ 1792'] marcï-îand's voyage.
169
be attributed the exceffive agitation of the fea
during the gale of wind. We may prefent, in
fupport of this conje6ture, what Captain Chanal
mentions in his journal : that on his return from
India in 1789, on board the Tufcan fhip, il
Gran Duca di Toscana, he experienced in the
fame latitude^ an efFed of the fame current, ft ill
much more confiderable than that of twenty leagues
a day, fince, in the fpace of twenty-one hours,
the fhip was carried thirty-five leagues to the
fouth-weft ;f fouth. The current was no longer
felt when they had paffed CapeTALHADo, fituated
to the we ft -fouth -weft of Muscle Bay. The
Tufcan fhip had failed at the fame diftance from
land, twelve, fifteen, and twenty leagues, at which
Captain Marchand had kept.
On the 13th,' at noon, our navigators were af-
fured by the obfervation of the ftin's meridian alti-
tude, that the effedt of the current which, on
coming out of theMosAMBiQUE Strait, ought to
fet to the fouth ward, had no longer a6led on the
ftiip, fmce, being more advanced towards the weft,
fhe had been ftieltered by the fouthern lands of
Africa ; for, on comparing the latitude obferved
with that which had been deduced from the dead
reckoning, it was found that the ftiip, very far
from having been carried to thé fouthward, had,
on the contrary, been drifted 17 minutes, or five
leagues and two-thirds, to the northward ; this
jnight be attributed to a ftrong fwell from the
ij9 marchand's voyage. [May 179s,
fouth-weflj which mufi: have driven her towards
that fide. Some lunar obfervations, taken at fifty
minutes after ten in the morning of this fame day,
had likewiiè proved that, in the interval between
the i2ch and the 13th, the currents had ceafed to
fet to the weflward *.
In the nighr between the 13th and the 14th,
the Solide carried away her main- yard, while the
watch were employed in cluing up the topfails,
in a fquall that was not fufEciently flrong to caufe
this accident : it was fuppofed to have been fprung
during the gale of wind ; however, it was expe-
ditiouOy replaced by a fpare yard.
From feveral obfervations made on the 15th and
ïéth, it was concluded that at noon on the latter
day, the fhip was in longitude 17° 47', and latitude
35"^ 44'. Since the obfervations of the 12th and
î3th, the differences between the longitude ob-
ferved and that by account, had been fo fmall, that
it might be imagined that at ieaft a part, or per-
haps the whole of thefe differences, belonged to
the trifling error which an obferver cannot be af-
fured of guarding againft in the obfervation, or to
the error which may ftill be found to affed the
aftronomical tables that are employed in the cal-
culation of the longitudes deduced from the moon's
diflance from the fun or ftars.
We are therefore juftified in thinking that, in
tht interval from the 12th to the i6th, the differ-
* See Note LXVIL
cnces
May 1792.] marchand's voyage. ' 171
ences between the refuks of the dead reckoning
and thofe of the obfervation, were by no means
occafioned by the effe6t of the currents which had
maftered the fhip during the preceding days*.
Captain Marchand, having found by the ob-
fervations of the 16th, that, at noon on that day,
he was under the meridian of Cape Aiguillas,
and fifteen leagues to the fouthward of that cape,»
fleered north-weft, in order to make the Ifland
of St. Helena, where he intended to pafs twenty-
four hours, in order to procure fome refrefliments
for his crew ; and, in concert with Captain Cha*
nal, he employed himfelf in this run in afcer-^
taining the route of the fhip by the ufe of aftro-
nomical obfervations which, in the courfe of the
voyage, had conftantly guarded him againft the
uncertainties and errors of the dead reckoning.
The obfervations of the 25th of May gavé
4° 42' eaft longitude, and proved that, in the fpace
of the laft nine days, the fhip had been carried to
the weftward 1° 6\ beyond the refult of the dead
reckoningf.
Thofe of the 28th fhewed that the error on
the fame fide, had been, in three days, 9 J.
On the 29th, at noon, the longitude of the Ihip,
deduced by the twenty-four hours' dead reckoning,
from that which had, on the noon of the precede
* See Notes LXVIII and LXIX.
f See Note LXX. J See LXXL
0 îng
«72 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [May 1792.
îng day, been given by the obfervations made
that fame day, was 15' weft from Paris, and
the latitude, obferved at the fame inftant, 20° 52'
fouth. Thence it was concluded that at half paft
ten o'clock, in the morning of the 29th, the So-
lide had been under the firft meridian of France,
under which fiie had already paiïed in the Medi-
terranean, after her departure from Marseilles,
on the 19th of December 1790 : thus, in the fpace
of feventeen months and ten days, or only thirteen
months and a half, deducting the time pafled at
anchor, at the different anchorages, and the length
of the ftay at the Ifle of France, the ftiip had
circumnavigated the globe in the diredion of the
diurnal revolution of the fun, or to exprefs myfelf
more corre6lly, in the inverfe diredion to the diur-
nal revolution of the earth : and if, on his arrival
at Macao, Captain Marchand had not added
a day to the computation of time, he muft have
added it here, in order to agree again with the
date and the calendar of the meridian of Paris.
The obfervations for the longitude on the 29th,
proved that, in the laft twenty-four hours, the
currents had aded feebly in increafing the fhip's
progrefs by account towards the weft ^ ^ and thofe
of the 30th even feemed to indicate a progrefs ftill
fm aller by i minute towards that fide, than wa§
given by the dej^d reckoning f.
^ Sef Note LXXII. i Sçs Note LXXIJI.
Biït
May 1792.] marchand's voyage. 173
But if the movement of the waters had no longer
a6led in the diredion of the longitude, their adion
occafioned confiderable errors in the dire6lion of
the latitude : the obfervations fhewed that, in the
interval of four days, from the 30th of May to the
3rd of June, the currents had carried the Ihlp 33
minutes, or thirty-three miles to the fouthward*.
Half an hour before noon of this latter day, our
navigators had the firfl fight of St. Helena,
bearing weft by fouth, at the diftance of about
twelve leagues ; and it is at this diftance, and in
this diredion, that the ifland ought to have borne
from the fhip, according to the dead reckoning,
deduced from the longitude which had been deter-
mined on the 30th of May by obfervations of the
diftances of the fun and moon. This fituation
being afcertained left little doubt that, the next
day in the courfe of the forenoon, the ftiip might
caft anchor in the road of James Town, fituated
about the middle of the north-weft coaft of the
ifland.
On the 4th, at nine o'clock in the morning.
Sugar -Loaf Point bore weft fouth- weft, and the
extremity of the moft eaftern land in fight bore
dire6lly fouth. After having hoifted out the boats,
and doubled the north point. Captain Marchand
ftood in for the road under the topfaiis, by the
help of a light breeze from fouth-eaft to eaft-fouth-
* See Note LXXIV,
eafti
1/4 marchand's voyage, [May 179s.
caft ; and at half paft ten o'clock, the Solide came
to an anchor off James Town, in thirteen fathoms,
over a bottom of fine gray fand ; Sugar-Loaf
Point bearing eaft 31° 45' north, Munden's Point,
fouth 20° 30' eaft, and the flag-ftafF of the go--
vernor's houfe, fouth 9° 15' eaft.
Captain Marchand fourid at the anchorage two
Englifli Eaft-Indiamen ; and, a few hours after his
arrival, a ftiip which he had met with at fea like wife
came and anchored in the road,
I ftiall not here terminate what concerns the
Solide's run from the Ifle of Réunion to St*
Helena, without ftiewing, both with what ex-
adlnefs fhe made the land on this latter ifland, and
to what a dangerous error fhe would have been
expofed, had not the dead reckoning been rec-
tified by aftronomical obfervations.
The laft obfervations for the longitude had been
made on the 30th of May ; and it was from this
fixed point that Captain Marchand fteered for
making the land. In applying to the longitude
determined by thefe obfervations, the progrcfs by
account towards the weft fmce that period, a pro -
grefs which he had reafon to think fufKciently
exadl, fmce, during thefe latter days, the currents
had ceafed to ad: on the fhip in the diredlion of
the longitude, we find that the longitude of the
fliip, in fight of James Town agrees, to a minutey
with that which had been fixed for that town
byNEViL Maskelyne, the aftronomer royal of
Green-
June 1792.] marchand's voyage. 175
Greenwich. This extreme precifion is, no doubt,
an efFeft of chance, fmce Captain Marchand was
obliged to employ the dead reckoning for the lail
five days of the paffage, and fmce this calculation
might be afFeded by fome error : but lec us fee
in what longitude the fliip would have been fuppo-
fed to be if, in failing only from within fight of
the coait of Africa, on the 9th of May, he had
been under the neceffity of direding his courfe by
the dead reckoning.
On the 4th of June, Captain Marchand, would
have reckoned that he had arrived at 3° weft longi-
tude, when he had already reached 8*^ 4' : the error
ûfiern would then have been, after twenty-five days
only, 5° 4^ which, in the parallel of St. Helena,
anfwer to upwards of îiinety-Jeven leagues : but if^
as that was poiïlble, and has often happened, he
had not made the coaft of Africa, but had made
a dire 61 run, from the Ifle of Réunion to St.
Helena, the error aftern^ ^htr forty -three àdijs y the
length of a very ordinary pafTage, would have been
§° 35', or upwards of one hundred and fixty-Jeven
leagues'^.
In order to make the reader fenfible what f^tai
confequences might have enfued from an error
afiern of upwards of five degrees, which ftili re-
jTiained, at the time of making the land on the
ifland of St. Helena, notwithftanding the cor*-
* ^e€ Note LXXIV»
reélio^n
iyG marchand's voyage. [June 1792.
rc6lion of 3° 30', made, twenty-five days before,
within fight of the coaft of Africa, it will be
fufficient to obferve that, in the perfuaflon in
which Captain Marchand muft have been that
the fliip was ftill near one hundred leagues to the
eaftward of St. Helena, it was poffible that if,
in coming to feek this fmall ifland, he had not^
kept cxadly in its parallel, he would not have
perceived it during the night, and that, in the dark,
he would have pafîcd it without fufpe6ling it:
and it was the more to be feared that he would not
be able to keep in a given parallel, as in the latter
part of the run, the fhip had been conftantly car-
ried to the fouthward, and fometimes at a con-
fiderable rate in the interval of twenty-four hours.
Befides, it is well known that, in the parallel of
St, Helena, the winds blow conftantly from the
points of the compafs near the eaft 3 and it is well
known too that there is no longer a poffibility of
getting again to windward of the ifland, if a iliip
» has once palTcd its meridian : I lliall add that the
fteadinefs of tlie winds here prefents an additional
danger ; for if, in confequence of an error in the
longitude, a veffel ihould happen to be hemmed in
during the night on the windward coaft of the
ifland, this iron coaft affords no other profped than
that of fiiipwreck, without any hope of fafety either
for the veflel or for the people.
As the road of St. Helena is little frequented
by the French, to whom, however, it may be im-
portant
June 1792.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. I77
portant to be acquainted with it, and as it is fo
well known to the Englifh, that, in the accounts
of their voyages, they difpenfe with entering into
any detail refpeéling the anchorage, I have thought
that it would be ufeful to preferve the remarks
which Captain Chanal was enabled to make,
as well in regard to the precautions to be taken,
as to the courfe to be held, by a fliip that intends
to anchor in this road (lead.
The Ifland of St. Helen'a is fufficiently high
to be difcerned, in clear weather, at the diftance
of twenty leagues. Itprefents, at the firft afpedl,
nothing but a heap of fteep rocks, feparated by
narrow and deep vallies. The anchorage, as has
been faid, is fituated on the part of the coaft that
j faces the north -weft : and as the ifland is placed in
I the region of the trade -winds, it is always necef-
[ fary to make the land to the northward of this
I part, and to fteer for Sugar-Loaf Point, the moft
) northern of this coaft : firft, you muft range very
I I clofc to this pointy near it, there is no danger to
u be dreaded i the coaft every where is bold and
1 1 fafe. On Sugar-Loaf Point is feen a fmall fort,
I bearing this infcription, which is a warning to
; Ihips coming into the roadftead : " Send the jhifs
boat ^Jhore^.'' From this point, a boat may be
! difpatched in order to announce to the governor
* I have been told that this notice is there written in thfec
1 languages, Englifh, French, and Portuguefe.
VOL, II. N the
■f I
■:t
I
marchand's voVage. [June 1792.
the (hip's arrival. Captain Chanal fays he was
told that if the commander of a veffel negleéled to
conform to what is prefcribed in this refpedl, fhc
would be expofed to be fired at by the fort:
Captain Marchand was unable to comply with
this formality till after he had anchored in the
road, and yet the fort did not fire.
After you have paffed Sugar -Loaf Point, you
continue your courfe under eafy fail, till you arc
arrived at the anchorage.
From this firft point, you perceive the fhips
that may be lying in the road, and you fleer for
them : if there be none there, which is very fel-
dom the cafe, you iKould fleer fo as to pafs at a
little diflance from Munden's Point, where is
built a fmall fort by which it may be known. It
is neceilary to range clofe along the land, if you
do not wifh to be forced to ply to windward in
order to reach the anchorage : you have nothing
to fear but the fqualls that come from the two
vailles fituated between Sugar-Loaf and Mun-
pen's Points; you mufl therefore carry little fail,
and ftand by the topfail haliards. Each of thefe
vailles is defended by a battery of cannon.
James Valley, in which Jamks Town is fituated
prefents itfelf immediately after M un den's Point.
As foon as you begin to difcoyer the fîag-flafF ofi
the governor's houfe, you may let go the anchor
you will have from ten to twenty fathoms water
according as you have anchored nearer to or far-
the
6
June 1792.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE»
179
ther from the fliore ; but if you anchor in ten
fathoms, bringing the flag-ftafF of the governor's
houfe to bear fouth-eaft 6 or 7® fouth, you will be
nearer to the landing-place and to that for filling
water.
It is fufficient to moor with a ftream anchor
which muft be carried to the north-weft by the
compafs. The fea-breezes, from the fouth-weft
to the north- weft, are here very rare : and if they
happen to blow, they are always very faint : only,
in this cafe, you experience a heavy fwell which
caufes a violent furf on ftiore.
It will not, undoubtedly, be ufelefs to French
navigators to add to thefe merely nautical direc-
tions various particulars important to be known,
which are neither to be found in the defcriptions
that have been given us of the Ifland of St,
Helena, by Captain Cook*, and George For-
STER f , nor in the more ancient Journals of Wil-
liam Dampier J, to whom maritime nations are
indebted for the firft accounts of voyages from
which it is poffible to obtain exaél information.
James Town is built in the bottom of a narrow
Valley, commanded by two hills. A battery which
* Ha^kepworth's Compilation, Cook's Firjî Voyage, Vol.
page 794 to 798. — Cook's Second Voyage, Vol. II. page 270»
+ George Forfter, A Voyage Round the World) &c. Vol. II.
page 557 to 570.
J fV, Damjfter, A Voyage Round the Worlds 8cC. Vol. I. page
544 to 548, Knapton's edition, 1699.
N 2
occupies
l8o MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [June I792.
occupies the whole breath of this valley, defends
the approach to it, and prote6ls the anchorage.
Some redoubts, towards the fea, and forts ere6ted
on the flope of the adjacent hills, add to the de-
fence of the place and to the proteftion of the
roadftead. A garrifon of five hundred men is main-
tained for the guard and the duty of thefe different
works, as well as for the police of the ifland.
Landing appears impradlicable under the fire of
the batteries in front, the lateral redoubts, and the
commanding forts. The enemy who fhould intend
to attack St. Helena, can do no more than at-
tempt ^ bombardment, under cover of his fhips
of the line. The enterprife would at leaft be
hazardous, if not altogether rafli 3 and the deftruc-
tion of the town would not involve the furrender
of the ifland -, for it is doubtful whether a defcent
could be effedled till after having reduced the forts
that command the valley : and the commanding
fituation of thefe forts is fuch, that they have little
to dread from the efFe6V. of the artillery of fhips
which could cannonade them only at a diftance
and firing directly upwards, while the forts would
fire on the fhips direclly downwards, and make
ufe of red-hot balls and fhells, with a moft deci-
five advantage. Neither do the other points of the
jiorth-wefl coafl, more than thofe of the windward
and leeward coafts of the ifland, prefent any faci-
lity for a debarkation, and on thofe which appear
Içfs inacccffible, batteries or redoubts well-fituated
and
June 1792-] MARCHAND's VOYAGE.
and commanding the ground, ftiii add to the diffi-
culties, almoft infurmountable, which nature feems
to have taken a delight in multiplying on the whole
circumference of the ifland.
Within thefe few years, there has been con-
ftruded, as near as poffible to the landing-place,
a new fountain, by means of which a fhip com-
pletes her water with all the facility and difpatch
that can be wifhed for on the moft extraordinary
occafion. The cafks are landed and re-fhipped
very eafily by means of a crane, under which the
long-boat comes alongfide the quay without dan-
ger. For want of a long-boat or launch, a raft
or firing of calks may be formed, and towed on
fhore, and from the fliore on board, by the fmalleft
boat.
Each veffel pays fpr the duty of anchorage, five
pounds fterling, or twenty dollars, if ihe fills more
than twenty calks with water; three pounds, or
twelve dollars, if flie wants^ only that quantity or
lefs. Foreign veflels are not taxed at a higher
rat;é than that which is required even from the
fhips belonging to the Englifh Eaft- India company.
This company have, in the Ifland of St. He-
lena, of which they are proprietors, ftorehoufes
f»jpplied with all the rigging, furniture, fpare fails
and mails, that a fliip can ftand in need of after a
long voyage, or after a gale of wind that has oc-
cafioned her fome damages. James Town is a
naval ftorehoufe, in the middle of the South At-
N 3 lantic
iSs marchand's voyagï;. [June 1792.
LANTic Ocean, open indifcriminately to fhips be-
longing to the nation and to foreigners. The
company, in delivering the articles which they
hold in referve for the wants of navigators, put
on them, for their own profit, an increafe of fifty
per cent, on the prices of Europe. But a fliip
that fliould have occafion to heave down or get in
new lower mafts, would not find a poffibilLty of
making good thofe great defedls 3 however, fhe
might there procure topmafts.
The refources which this ifland prefents to navi-
gators are not confined to fupplies of naval ftores ;
the attentions of the company have likewife pro-
vided for the means of hufbanding for them fuc-
cour in point of provifions. An unprecedented
drought, which, in 1790 and 1791, fpread defola-
tion through the ifland, has for a time deflroyed
part of thefe refources ; but when we are acquainted
with the laborious adlivity of the inhabitants who
cultivate this rock, and we calculate the intereft of
the company, we are perfuaded that this wound
will ere long be healed, and perhaps is fo already.
Captain Chanal, who had touched at St. Helena
in 1789, tells us that, at that period, were reck-
oned there three thoufand head of oxen, a confi-
derable number of flieep, goats, and poultry -, that
vegetables of all forts, and of the beft quality,
were to be had there in abundance ; that pota-
toes were very common, and water-creffes propa-
gated to fuch a degree that they were fold by the
fack.
June 1792.] marchand's Voyage. 183
fack. The ifland was enabled to furnlili annually
to the fhips that put in here five or fix hundred
oxen. The examination took place in the month
of January of every year ; five or fix oxen might
be delivered to each veflel : and the number was
carried to ten or twelve for fhips that had fick on
board, or extraordinary wants. But, in order to
prevent all abufe, and maintain an equal diftribu-
tion, the captains were bound to addrefs their de-
mand to the governor ^ and the latter regulated
the number of oxen to be delivered to each ftiip.
Such was the ftate of this colony before 1790;
but the two years of drought, and the want of
fodder and grain that was the confequence of it,
had occafioned the death of a third of the exen,
and deftroyed the greater part of the fheep, goats,
and poultry. In 1792, there was as yet granted
only one ox in cafe of the moft extreme want ;
and although the Governor, Mr. Brooke, had
manifefted to Captain Marchand the bed difpo-
fition for gratifying his requefts -, although he had
made him the moft obliging and the moft fmcere
offers, and had loaded him with civilities, our na-
vigators could obtain only fix ftieep, a few pota-
toes, and fome facks of herbage, but not a fingle
fowl.
There is no bazar or public market at St. He-
lena ; a ftranger is obliged to apply to fome in-
habitant in order to procure the provifions of
which he ftands in need, with the exception of
N 4 oxen 5
2B4 marciiand's voyage. [June 1792.
oxen ; but the price of every article is fixed by a
regulation , and the governor takes the ftrifteft
care that ftrangers are neither cheated nor fuffer
extortion *. '
I fhall not undertake to give a minute defcription
of thelfland of St. Helena, already known by the
* Captain Chanal's journal gives us the prices of eatables in
the month of July, 1789; it may be ufeful to preferve the
memorandum of this, becaufe it is to be hoped that after a few
years of abundance (hall have repaired the lofTes of the ifland,
provifions may fall again to the price at which they were ob-
taiaed before the years of drought.
An ox, weighed alive, coft four pence half-penny Jîerling the
Englifh pound ; which amounted to 9 fous tournois.
Ditto, weighed by quarters, 6 pence Jierling, the pound, or 12
fous tojirnois,
A goat, fmall and lean, a dollar and a half.
A Iheep 2 dollars and a half.
Poultry, large and fmall, 18 JhillingSy or 3^ dollars the
dozen.
Water-creffes and herbage, a dollar the fack.
Potatoes, 2 dollars the Englifti hundred cwt. of J05 French
pounds.
When Captain Chanal was at St, Helena, in Ï789, he learnt
that, from the month of January to that of July of this year,
eighty (hips of all nations had anchored in the road, and nine
were lying there at that very time : all of them had been fup-
plied according to their wants, and yet the laft comers found
every thing that they had occafion for ; poultry only were begin-
ning to grow fcarce ; but the quantity neceffary for each of the
fhips could yet be procured. When he returned thither 1792,
the loffes v/hich the inhabitants had fuftained, and the fcarcity
of provifions united to raife the price of thofe which the ifland
could ftill furnifn ; and every thing was paid for at double the
rate of 1789 ; a ilieep 4} dollars, a cwt, of potatoes 2\_ dollars.
journals
Jane 1792.] march AND's VOYAGE. 185
journals of the Englilh navigators : George For-
STER has taken particdar pains to defcribe the
nature and the produdions of the foii ; and Thomas
Raynal * has colleéled into a fingle pidure the
principal pafiages fcattered in the different works
that I have quoted f . I mean only to prefent the
ifland under general pçints of view, and to bring
forward a few fads, a few particulars, fome of
which belong to hiftory, fome to general phyfics,
and others to politics.
Don Jo AO da Nova Galego, a Portuguefc
Admiral, made the difcovery of St. Helena on
the 2ifl: of May 1502, on the day of the faint of
that name. The Dutch, who, in the fequel, con-
quered the conquerors of India, made themfelves
mailers of the fmall fettlement v/hich the latter
had formed on the ifland, whither they had already
conveyed goats, hogs, and various kinds of poultry.
St. Helena afforded a place for procuring re-
frefliments, a fafe roadftead to Ihips coming from
Asia, or the eaftern coaft of Africa; but the
Dutch thought proper to abandon it after Sur-
geon Van-Riebeck had, in 1650, induced their
East -India company to adopt the plan of a fet-
tlement much more important, that of the Cape
of Good Hope, a fituation v/hich the Portuguefe
had negleded, becaufe they were not fenfible of
* Hijioire Fhtlofophique des Deux IndeSy Vol. II, page 207
to 209* Pellet'^ 8vo. edition. Geneva, 1780.
t See page 179, Notes i, J, in this Volume.
the
i86
MARCH AN r>'s VOYAGE. [June 1792.
the advantage of it ; a fituation, on account of
which England has fince always envied Hol-
land, vv^hich fhe has at length contrived to get
poiïcfiion of by furprife, and which the commer-
cial nations muft wifh to fee foon return under
the domination of the trading company who, at
the fouthern extremity of Africa, founded an
European colony, and one of the moft confidera-
ble towns of that part of the world.
The Englifh eagerly feized on the Ifland 6f St.
Helena, which the Dutch abandoned ; but the
latter could not fee without jealoufy, nor without
uneafinefs, their rivals in commerce occupy a poft
with the utility of which they were acquainted :
they endeavoured to take it from them, folely that
the former might not poflcfs it; and, in 1672,
they fucceeded.
But fhortly after, the fame motive that induced
the Dutch to wifh to deprive the Englifli of it,
induced the latter to make an effort to retake it.
Captain Munden was intruded with the expedi-
tion. He landed in a fmall cove, where it appears
that the Dutch had not conceived that a debarka-
tion was practicable, for they had neglefted to
cre6l there any fort of fortification s and, before
the befieged fufpedied that a landing was effected,
the Englifh had already reached the fummit of the
hills that command the town; and, from thefe
heights, they battered the little fort which foon
capitulated' and furrendered.
Since
June 1792.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
187
Since that period, the poffeflion of England
has not been difturbed.
The Ifland of St. Helena is fituated three hun-
dred and thirty leagues from Cape Negro* of the
Old Continent, and fix hundred leagues from Cape
Sant AcosTiNHO-j- of the New. It appears to
be only the calcined fummit of a large infulated
mountain, the part of which that fhews itfelf above
water muft, according to the dimenfions affigned
to it in the journal of Cook's firft voyage, be
twelve leagues in length, by fix in breadth J ; and
nothing
* Weftern coafl: of Africa, in about 16^ fouth latitude,
+ Coaft of Brazily in about 8° 40^ fouth latitude.
J I am very far from vouching for the accuracy of thefe dimen-
fions ; I report them out of refpeft to the name of Cook, fuch as
they are to be found in Hanvkefworth' s Compilation, Cook's Firji
yoyage, Vol. III. p. 391 ; they differ greatly from thofe which
feveral charts have given to this ifland.
If there be an error, as I think there is, it is far from being
proved that the error belongs to Cook, whofe exaftnefs is known .
but we cannot have the fame confidence in the compiler, who is
frequently found in fault.
What might induce us to imagine that the dimenfions given
in Cooi's journal are greatly exaggerated, is that it is there men-
tioned, that, while the Endea^vour lay in James Touun Road, Mr*
Banks impro'ved the time in making the complete circuit of the
*f ijland, and <vijiting the moji remarkable places upon it.'* I ob-
ferve that the Ihip anchored on the ift of May at noon, and that
Ihe failed again on the 4th, at one o'clock in the afternoon : fup-
pofing that Mr. Banks employed, in his excurfion, the three
whole days, and that, during thefe feventy-two hours, he took
no reft, this time will ftill appear infufiicient for making the cir»
cuit of the St. Helena of Cook's journal, and vifiting the re-
markable places ujpon it ; for an ifland that is fuppofed to be
tn/jel've
t
i88
marchand's voyage. [June 1792.
nothing announces that it has beionged to a chain
of high lands which has been fwallowed up by the
waters -, for, at a very fnfiall diftance all round the
ifland, the fea is unfathomable : and although, for
three hundred years paft, the part of the Atlan-
tic Ocean where it is fituated, has been ploughed
and crofTed in every diredion, by Ihips of all the
nations that frequent this fea, no other ifland has
been met with, on a circumference of two hun-
dred and thirty leagues radius of which St. He-
tiuelnje leagues long by fix broad, and whofe form differs little
from that of an oblong fquare, muft be thirty -fix leagues in cir-
cumferenccy without reckoning the finuofities which muft ftill
lengthen it.
George Forfier, (Vol II. page 570 of his journal) fays that
the greateft extent of the ifland is nearly eight m'tleSi and the
circuit above taventy : thefe dimenlions are fo far from agreeing
with thofe affigned to it by Captain Cook's journal, that I fhould
be almoft tempted to fuppofe that Mr. Forjiery who is a German,
meant German miles of fifteen to a degree ; the eight miles of
extent would, in that cafe, anfwer to io| French and Englifli
leagues of twenty to a degree ; and the tiventy miles in circuit, to
26 y leagues. If it were'fuppofed that Mr. Forjier had exprefled
himfelf in marine miles of 60 to a degree, the length of the
iHand would be only 2* leagues : this is that which the charts
of the Dutch who, formerly polTefTed St. Helena, as well as
fome French and foreign charts, have given it ; but I think this
length too little,
Dampier ('a Voyage Round the World, Vol. I. p. 544) merely
fays that *S'/. Helena is nine or ten leagues in length : this navi-
gator always expreffes himfelf in marine leagues of 20 to a degree :
thefe dimenfions would come near to thofe given it by Coca's
journal.
LENA
June 1792.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. 189
LENA would be the centre^ that is to fay, on a
Ipace of near fourteen hundred leagues in circuit.
It may be remarked that Jouth of the equlno£tial
line, in the Atlantic Ocean, all the iflands are
Jolitary^ fcattered, and placed at too great diftances
from each other for it to be poffible to fuppofe
that they belong to the fame chain; ^)\At north
of the line, in this very ocean^, the illands are dif-
pofea in groups ^ known by the names of the Cape
DE Verd Iflands, the Canary Iflands, and the
AçoRES or Weftern Iflands. The contrary is feen
in the Great Ocean to the weft of America ; it
is Jouth of the equator that are fituated all thofe
archipelagoes of low iflands and high iflands, with
the fituation of which modern voyages have brought
us acquainted ; and north of the line, with the
exception of the archipelago of the Sandwich
Iflands, all the iflands are Jolitary^ and thrown at
great diftances from each other : it is only at the
Mary Anne Iflands, fituated two hundred leagues
to the eaftward of the Philippines, the northern
part of the great archipelago of Asia, that the
iflands begin to form a chain, or to be grouped.
To what phyfical caufe is to be attributed this dif-
ference between the difpofition of the Iflands of
the Atlantic Ocean which feparates Europe
and Africa from America, and that of the
Iflands of the Great Ocean which feparates the
latter from Asia? Why^ on the one hand, are the
fcattered iflands, and on the other, ' the grouped
iflands.
igo marchand's voyage. [June 1792.
iflands, to be found in oppofition, in the two
Oceans, v/ith refpcd to the equator, although
fîtuated on parallels nearly cquidiftant from tîiis
circle, and under this fame torrid zone, compre-
hended between the two tropics, the region of the
trade-winds throughout all the circumference of the
globe ? Why, with circumftances that are the
fame, do not the fimilar mafles correfpond with
each other, if, in both hemifpheres, their formation
be the effed of the fame caufe ? If, as it might
be prefumed, fome great convulfion of Nature,
by linking fome lands under the waters, has
brought to view others, and has preferved of the
former, only a few fummits, a few pinnacles
which indicate the direétion of the chains of their
mountains, we muft then fuppofe that, in that part
of the Atlantic Ocean fituated to the fouth
of the equator, and in that part of the Great
Ocean fituated to the north of this fame circle,
immenfe vallies occupy the fpaces where at this
day are feen thofe fmall iflands, which, in ancient
times, muft have been lofty mountains, infulated
on thofe vaft regions ; while, in the parts of both
feas refpedlively oppofite, fome high lands whofc
elevation extended over long fpaces, have, by the
fummits of their great mountains, formed the
large iflands which we fee united in groups. Can
we fuppofe that the maffes in oppofition in the
two oceans, feparated between them by half of
the circumference of the earth, and placed at
diftances
June 1792.] marchand's voyage*
diftances nearly equal on the one hand to the
fouth, and on the other, to the north of the equa-
tor, are neceffary for the balance of the globe?
But the neceffity of this equilibrium has difap--
peared, fince navigation, pufhed by Cook beyond
the feventy-firft parallel fouth, has demonflrated
that the pretended Southern Continent which
was fuppofed neceflary for balancing the great lands
fituatcd under the Ar6lic polar circle and beyond
it, has never exifled but in the inaagination of a
few natural philofophcrs, who, from the recefîes
of their clofets, wifh to fubmit to their little hypo-
thefis, the grand fyftem of Nature and the uni«
verfality of her means. At every (lep that we
take on this terraqueous globe, alternately over-
thrown, and perhaps both by fire and by water,
it feems that, inftead of elucidating the theory of
its formation, inftead of acquiring fome certain
knowledge refpedling its primitive flate, we fee,
on the contrary, darknefs thicken : and the night
of time, which envelops the infancy of the world,
fcarcely fulFers us to get a glimpfe of the image of
the chaos, from which it has been drawn by that
univerfal Power who has placed immenfity between
his a6lion and the limit of human , conceptions j
that eternal, immutable caufe, which has aded
only once for ever ; fole principle, invifible
mover, whofe Iprings, no doubt, it is not given
to man to know, and whofe effc6ts he muft con-
tent himfeif with admiring, without pretending to
explain them.
Î retura
ig2
marchand's voyage. [June 1792,
I return to Saint Helena of which the digref-
fion that I have indulged myfelf in, has made us
lofe fight.
Although folitary in the midft of the South
Atlantic Ocean, the Ifland of St. Helena
announces that it owes its origin to the fame
caufe to which is attributed the formation of the
iflands that compofe the groups fituated north of
the equator : it prefents, throughout, a piéture of
ruins : every thing there indicates the aftion of a
fubterraneous fire, of an eruption, of an earth-
quake that has overthrown its furface, and dif-
compofed its whole mafs. Although feparated by
large vallies, the oppofite hillocks exhibit one
fame afpe6l, Ihew the fame ftrata placed at the
fame heights, and have the fame diredion ; while
the ftones, efpecially thofe which are found in the
bottoms, are calcined and nearly reduced to afhes.
The navigator who makes the land on the wind-
ward fide of the ifland, at firft perceives nothing
but a heap of broken rocks, feparated by preci-
pices, the height of which the eye cannot mea-
fure. Captain Cook fays that, in failing along
the Ihore, he came fo near the huge cliffs, that
" they feemed to overhang the fliip, and the tre-
mendous effed of their giving way, made him
" almofl fear the event* j and, no doubt, it will
* Ua^wke/nvorth* s Comptlaùon» Cook* s Firft Voyage» Vol.
III. page 392. 4to edition,
" not
June 1792-] marchand's voyage. 193
" not be imagined that Captain Cook was eafiiy
" alarmed/'
In continuing to range along the coaft that faces
the north-weft, you at length difcover a deep
valley -, this is called Chapel Valley ; it refem-
bles a large trench, the opening of which is turned
towards the fea, and which, growing narrower,
terminates in an acute angle in the interior of the
ifland. The ground of the valley prefents fome
appearance of verdure 5 but its flopes, or rather
its inclined ramparts, are as fteril, as naked, as
the rocks with which the coaft is bounded. It is
not till after you have cleared the firft hills, that
you find verdure in the vallies, and that portions
of cultivated land announce that the foil fit for
vegetation waits, in order to yield fuftenance to
man, only for his labour to render produdive by
culture, the arable intervals left between the bar-
ren rocks which compofe the furface of the ifland.
The various advantages which St. Helena
affords, as well from its fituation and the facility
of its defence, as from the produce of its foil,
which at this day fuffices for its fcanty popula-
tion, and would foon fuffice for a greater, have
not efcaped the fpeculations of the modern Phoe-
nicians: it is in Chapel Valley, in that angular
ditch, that a company of merchants to whom the
Britifti government gave up the property of the
ifland, have built a town under the name of James
Town 5 it is on the ruins of an Old World, that
VOL. II. o they
194 marchand's voyage. [June 179 â.
they have founded a colony entirely Englifh, whofe
population amounts to two thoufand individuals,
including in this number, about five hundred fol-
diers, of whom the garrifon of the ifland is com-
pofed, and fix hundred flaves employed in diffe-
rent labours. If the colony has not rifen to the
degree of profperity to which it might afpire, it
is on the fovereign company alone that the re-
proach ought to bear: in referving for themfelves
or for their agents, the greater portions of the
produ6î:ive ground, which are left in paftures for
the rearing of the cattle intended for vi6tualling
their fliips on their paffage, they have, by thefe
refcrves, limited the progrefs of induftry, which
would have employed thofe very grounds in the
cultivation of corn, wines, legumes, and nutritious
roots. The activity of the colonifts derives the
moft advantageous benefit from the fmall quantity
of land that their hands are permitted to turn to
account; and as the fole traffic that is tolerated
by the monopoly of the company,, is the fale of
fruits, herbage, and other refrefliments fit for
fhipping, the inhabitants muft have applied them-
felves to the only kinds of culture which can in-
fure them fome profit. Accordingly all the free
lands are afTiduoufly cultivated 5 and if the crops
of the ifland are not proportioned to the fer-
tility of the foil and to the temperature of the
climate, they are at leafl commenfurate to the
portion of the productive furface which avarice
confents
June 1792.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
confent;s to leave to induftry : for, as Virgil
fays, if
** Labor omnia vincit
** Lnprobus, et duris urgens in rebus egejîas*»^*
Thus it is that the indefatigable Maltefe labo-
rioufly extends over the rock which he inhabits,
a ftratum of vegetable earth that he brought from
Sicily ; and contrives to convert into a garden of
Hesperides, a foil which Nature feemed to have
condemned to eternal fteriiity.
Two rocks have, by their fituation on the globe,
deferved to fix the attention, and excite the jea-
loufy of trading nations : the firft, which I have
juft defcribed, thrown into the middle of the
Atlantic Ocean between the Equinoftial Line
and the fouth tropic j the fécond, placed for com-
manding the (Irait that feparates two parts of the
Old World, and conne6ted by a tongue of land
to the continent of Europe, which it terminates
to the fouth. In both, the labours of art have
furpalTed the work of Nature y in the formçr, in
order to fertilize a few portions of land -, in the
latter, in order to Convert an infulated promon-
tory into an impregnable fortrefs againft which,
and rather recently too, the combined arms of
> * « Then all thofe arts that poliOi life fucceed,
" What cannot ceafelefs toil, and prefling need ?"
Warton.
O 2
two
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [J^mC l/gS.
two great powers have mifcarried. Both thefe
important pofls are occupied by the fame nation:
the one, by affording to its rich fleets from Asia,^
about the middle of their voyage, a port, a place
for procuring refrefliments, facilitates the immenfe
trade which it carries on with that part of the
earthy the other, by giving up to it the gate of
the MeditePvRanean, puts it in a fituation to
open or fhut, according to its intereiis, the fources
of the commerce of the Levant to the nations that
have not poffeffions on this fea^ to fetter, at its
pleafure, the operations of its competitors j and,
in cafe of war, to oppofe the jund^ion of the ene-
my's fleets which might be aflTemblcd partly in
the ports of the Levant, partly in thofe of the
weft Goaft of France: at the fame time that,
by the maritime forces to which it affords a fliel-
ter, it prefents an impoflng mafs, ever ready to
reprefs the uneafy adivity and check the fudden
equipments of the Barbary powers, who, not
carrying on any trade themfelves, and not being
able to enrich themfelves, but by piracy, are fkil-
ful in creating pretexts for declaring war againfl:
the nations whofe fhips are called by trade into the
Mediterranean*.
The
* Some of the Northern powers, in order to maintain peace
with the Barbary States, and fave the expenfe of giving con-
voys to their (hipping in cafe of war, have, long fince, deter-
mined to pay to the regencies on the coaft of Africa and to the
King of Morocco, a fubfidy, or rather an annual tribute, which
June 1792.]
marchand's voyage/
Î97
The rocks of St. Helena and Gibraltar
would lofe all their importance, if, as in pad
times, the former were pofîefîed by the Dutch,
and the latter re-attached to the kingdom of SpaiNj
from which it was difmembered by a furprife,
prepared by tréachcry. But what weight they ac-
quire in the political fcale of Europe, when they
are united under the power of a nation the moft
enterprifing, of a nation governed by principles
inimical to the profperity of every others to
which, neither mutual convenience, nor the law of
nations, nor a refpedl for property, are obftacles
to encroachment and invafion -, and which, by
force, by artifice, or by corruption, attempts to
eftabli(li itfelf wherever fome apparent benefit
calls its commercial fpeculations Î Have we not
feen it contrive to confolidate, by treaties, the
fettlements which it had ufurped on the Muskito
fhore, and in the Bay of Campeachy i and under
the idle pretext of the necefTicy of cutting, for its
manufaftures, the wood that grows on thofe parts
of the New Continent, mafk the real objed of its
is always the fundamental claufe of every treaty of peace and
friendfhip with thofe ftates j this is what may he called con-
tr'ihuttng to the fire. However humiliating this facrifice muft
appear, we cannot but approve of the conduft of the nations
which have thought proper to fubmit to it : in faft, in a war
with pirates, a trading people has nothing to gain, and every
thing to lofe ; we are forced to purchafe their friendfhip in order
pot to increafe their infolence by triumphs, and their power by
(iemandsj
^ 3
19^ marchand's voyage. [June 1792.
demands, the prefervation, in the centre of the
Spanilh polTefTions, of thofe marts for fmuggling,
which infure it both the introdudtion of its mer-
chandifc, and the iflue by the fame channel of a
part of the rich produce of the mines of Mexico
and PoTOsi ? Have we not fèen it ready to run
the chances of a war, in order to preferve the
contefted pofleffion, or rather not to make the'
reftitution of thofe barren iflands, fituated in the
latitude of the Magellanic Land, of which it
hoped to make an emporium of trade in the auftral
feas, and a point of fupport and a refreflhing-
place, when-ever it fliould wifh to carry war to
the weft coafts of America ? And when Europe
Was fcarcely informed that, in the province of
SoNORA, at CiNEGuiLLA, at CiNALO, and in other
regions which extend to the northward of Cali-
fornia, the Spaniards had found new mines that
furpafs in richnefs all thofe which had hitherto
been difcovered in the New World, already this
fame nation had dire6ted its fliips towards the
coafts that border on thofe countries ; already a
fettlement, which announced itfelf as having no
other objedl than a temporary traffic for furs, was
rifmg on thofe lands fcaiceiy known, and threatened
Spain with a fmuggling trade, the more difficult
to check, as a greater diftance muft more eafily
conceal from the vigilance of the Viceroy of
MExico-and his lieutenants, fuch clandeftine opera-
tions, which never fail to be promoted by the fub-
altern
June 1792.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
aîtcrn fuperintendants ^whom ic is not difficult to
corrupt by interefting them in the fuccefs of the
fraud. Spain has fucceeded in difconcerting this
new projedl of the Britifb government; but let us
not imagine that it is relinquifhed : we might
rather foretel that it will be refumed with ardour,
and profecuted with perfeverance, as foon as more
favourable circumftances can infure its execution
In fhort, we fee at this day the fame nation trea-
eheroufly avail itfelf of the troubles that agitate a
republic not long fince its friend, but which,
weary of the yoke of an ally, become its mailer,
returns to the liberty to which fhe was indebted
* The treaty which Spain concluded with England, after
the difpute relative to the fettlement of Nootka, is, properly
fpeaking, only a palliative. The immenfe extent of the Spanifh
polTeffions in America, the difficulty which their diftance oppofe*
to defence, the means of attack which a power entirely mari-
time has always at its difpofal, no doubt, determined the cabinet
of Madrid to accede to propofals of peace. The embarraffment
of the moment allowed not of calling an attentive look to the
dangers of the future: the Spaniards wiihed for peace; they
made it. But this treaty which gives the Englifh the liberty of
eftablilhing themfelv^s and of navigating from Cape Mendoçino
to Nootka Sound, over a length of a hundred and fifty leagues of
coaft ; this treaty which goes fo far as to permit them to ap-
proach, within the diftapce of ten leagues, the coaft fubjed to
the domination of Spain, is for England a ftep towards the ex-
ecution of other projects which are ripening in the bofom of
filence, Spain is not, perhaps, fufficiently convinced that, in
refped to commerce, the Englifti are lefs formidable as enemies
during war, than dangerous as neighbours during peace.J
for
200
marchand's voyage. [June 1792.
for the rank fhe held among the great powers of
Europe, we fee it invade, both the important
fettlement of the Cape of Good Hope, and the
Ifland of Ceylon, ftill more important from its
harbour of Trincamalay, the only fafe port, in
all feafqns, that the Indian feas can afford to Eu-
ropean fhipsi feize on the valuable iflands that
produce the fpicesj perhaps, at the time I am
now fpeaking, ravage the opulent city of Batavia,
if the infalubrity of its climate, formidable to ftran*
gers, and conducive to its fafety in thefe circum-
ftances, has not proteded it from attack and plun-
der: and Ihortiy, no doubt, -we lhall fee it, after
having expelled the Batavians from the feas of
Asia, dired its Indian fleet and army againft the
Philippines, which, in their ordinary ftate of
nakednefs, leave little hope that they can oppofe
a long refiftance to an enemy encouraged by the
facility of his fucceflfes, and ftrong from the
weaknefs of the means that can be oppofed to
hinii
So many conquefts, added to the immenfe do-
mains which England, under the name of her
Eaft-India Company, already pofTeffes on the con-
tinent of Asia, compofe for her an ultramarine
empire, whofe territorial furface is more than dou-
ble that of her three kingdoms in Europe, and
thus tranfmit into the hands of her privileged com-
pany, all the rich produdions which the eaft of
6 the
June 1792.] MAj^HAND's VOYAGE. 20t
the Old Continent barters for the metals of the
New World *.
I fliall not fpeak of the Ifland of Trinadad,
which fhe has recently acquired by right of con-
queft: we muft exped that fhe will fet it at a
very high price, if ever fhe refolve to reftore it ;
becaufe, being fituated at the head and to wind-
ward of a part of the coaft which fpreads over an
extent of twenty leagues, and joins to the Englifh
fettleraents in the Bay of Campeachy, that ifland
will, in her hands, become the emporium of an
immenfe fmuggling trade, which, introducing itfelf
by all the points of that long coaft, will penetrate,
through innumerable channels, to the very cen-
tre of the Spanifli pofîefTions.
As for her trade with the Portuguefe colonies,
it is well known that fhe is not reduced to feek
oblique means for^ fucceeding in it : fhe leaves to
the fhips belonging to Portugal the care of im-
porting to America the produce of the Englifh
manufaélories, and of thence exporting to Eng-
land the produce of the mines of Brazil.
Thofe who have read hiflory, and have reflect-
ed on reading it, cannot be miftaken refpedling
the plan which Great-Britain has formed, and
towards the execution of which;^ fince fhe has
It is proper to remark th^t, at the time this part of the
original work was printed, neither was the conqueft of Egypt
achieved by the French, nor ' had the Englifli made themfelves
millers of Serlngapatam and the Mjfore country. — TranJIaur.
occupied
£02 marchand's VOYAGE. [June Ï792,
occupied a place in the annals of Europe, we
fee her inceffantly aiming, fometimes openly and
by a rapid courfe, more frequently in the dark,
and by a winding and imperceptible progrefs.
To her, trade is all in all ; and this too is the god
to]which fhe has always facriHced, to which fiie
will facrifice every thing, even Tier very friends
and allies: the univerfality of commerce which
fhe attributes, and would wifh to appropriate, to
herfeif 5 commerce without participation 3 this is
what was, at all times, the object of her medita-
tions, the regulator of her enterprifes, the aim of
her attempts : and the four quarters of the earth
are fcarcely adequate to her cupidity and ambition
— Europe is witnefs of this ! And all Europe,
petrified in a manner, by enchantment, does not
in a mafs take up arms againft: the ufurpation of
the commerce of the world Î And the Northern
Powers leave their ufelefs fhips moored in their
ports ! They all feem to tremble before that ter-
rific giantefs, more impofing than real, who over-
hangs the frail and too narrow bafe on which
fhe (lands; who has none of her great means
within herfelf ; whofe political exiftence is, in
fome meafure, only a prolonged illufion ; and
whom it will be fufficient to attack in her navy
which conftitutes her ftrength, in her trade which
conftitutes her wealth, in her Afiatic pofleflions
which nourifti both, to fee her defcend again to
the inferior rank which the confined extent of her
European
June 1792.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
European territory, and the weaknefs of her popu-
lation, have afTigned to her by the fide of the
great powers that divide the continent. It has
been faid poetically, and a thoufand times has it
been repeated ; but, without a figure, hiftory
proves it by the experience of ages, that
Ze trident de Neptune ejî le sceptre du monde.
Let all the nations that are called to fliare the em-
pire of the feas, then awake at laft to their own
intereft ; let them, in order to break this iron
fceptreform a maritime coalition, formidable from
its mafs, juft in its obje6l 5 let them unite their
flags and their efforts, in order that the Ocean,
which Nature meant to be the property of all,
may ceafe for ever to be the domain of one alone,
and that, fhortly, we may fee every nation of the
continent participate, in proportion to its territory
and population, in the general commerce, in the
free commerce of the two World^s *.
But it is time for us to rejoin the Solide in
the road of St. Helena. Captain Marchand
ftaid there no longer than was abfolutely necefTary
for providing himfelf with water, and procuring
fuch refrefhments as the ifland was in a conditio^
* The fubje6l of the 'Northern Confedera,cy having now been
fully and publicly difcuffed, ve fupprefs our obfervations on the
above paffage, w^hich we (hbuld, otherwife, have thought it ouç.
dui^ to fubmit to the reader, — Tranjlator^
to
Ê04 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [JunC 1792»
to furnifti to his fliip. He had caft anchor on the
morning of the 4th of June ; and on the ^th^ ^t
half pall ten in the evening, he fet fail for Eu-
rope. On the 7th, at noon, in latitude 14° 53^,
he ftill perceived the ifland to the fouthward j he
mull then have been at the diflance of about
twenty-one leagues from it.
A paflfage acrofs the Atlantic Ocean, from
the Ifland of St. Helena, to the Strait of
Gibraltar, can prefent no particulars that de-
fer ve to be mentioned ; I fhall confine myfelf to a
few remarks relative to navigation.
On the 20th of June, at four o*clock in the
morning, the Solide croiTedthe line at the twenty-
fifth meridian wefl from Paris.
At this period. Captain Marchand began to
perceive that the currents fet to the northward, as
had been experienced, the preceding year, north
of the line, in pafTing from the Cape de Verd
Ifiands to Cape Horn 5 and he expeded that^
when he could determine the longitude by aftro-
nomical obfervations, he would find that the fame
currents fet alfo to the wefbward, as had been ia
like manner experienced in the former pafTage.
It was not till the loth of July that he was
convinced of it j and he had already got into the
latitude of 32"^ 23' north. In this parallel, four
fcts of obfervations of diflances of the fun and
moon, the mean refult of which we reduced to
noon;, announced that the fhip had reached the
longitude
Jiiîy 1792.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
205
longitude of 46° 27' weft, that is to fay, that
fmce her departure from the îfland of St. He-
lena, fuuated in B® 9^, the progrefs tov/ards the
weft had been 38° 18': and as it was only 35° 2i\
according to the dead reckoning, it was thence
concluded that, in the interval of thirty-four days
and a half, the currents had carried the ftiip to
the weftward beyond her apparent progrefs, 2® 57',
v/hich may be eftimated at fifty-three leagues that
the reckoning was ajiern of the fhip's true po-*
lition.
• But, at the fame time that the currents had
driven the fhip to the weftward, they had alfo
driven her to the northward. Their diredlion
towards this latter quarter had not been conftant
till the ftiip had reached the equator; they fome-
times fet to the fouthward, and particularly be-
tween the parallels of 3° and 1° fouth of the line :
here they fet towards that fide, fixteen miles in
twenty- four hours, for two fucceffive days ; but^
from the equator to the parallel of 32^ 23' norths
their tendency towards the north was conftant, and
their erFed was fometimes twenty-one, twenty-
two, and twenty -eight miles in twenty-four hours ;
quantities which the real progrefs of the fhip in
latitude was in excefs beyond her apparent pro-
grefs. The fum of all the errors towards the
north, deducting the errors towards the fouth,
is one hundred and ninety-eight miles or fixty-fix
leagues : and, in combining the fixty-fix leagues
go6 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE, [July I792,
with the fifty-three leagues of the excefs of the
real progrefs towards the weft beyond the appa-
rent progrefs, it will be found, that, in the interval
of thirty -four days and a half, the fhip had been
carried in the dire6lion of north-weft 6^ north
(which differs little from that which fhe had fol-
lowed) eighty- five leagues that muft be added to
her apparent run, in order to have her real run.
It may be concluded, from a mean term, that the
daily increafe of her run owing to the efFedt of the
currents, was feven miles four- tenths in twenty-
four hours*.
Frefh lunar obfervations were, however, made
on the 23d, and their mean refult, reduced to
noon, placed the Solide in 34"^ 32' weft longi-
tude : her latitude, at the fame moment, was
41° 42' north. According to this pofition, fhe
was one degree and fome minutes to the weft-
ward of the meridian of the Iilands of Corvo
and Flores, the moit weftern of the Açores f ,
and on a parallel more northerly by two degrees
than that of thofe iflands.
* Sec Note LXXV,
"f According to the obfervations made on board the IJts m
I'] 6^ with a time-keeper ;
o / //
South point of the Ifland of Corrvo 33 32 32 weft.
North- weft point of Flores . 33 26 34
South point of ditto 33 32 26
Voja^e de /'Ifis à different Parties du Monde, en 1768 et 1769,
pour éprou'vcr les horloges marines de Ferdinand Berthoud. Paris,
hnprmer'ie Rojale^ ^llh 4^0» Vol, I. page 57410576.
The
July 1792.] Marchand's voyagé. 20;^
The obfervations of this day fiiewed that the
currents which^ from the 6th of June^ the day on
which the departure was taken from St. Helena,
till the loth of July^ had fet to the northward and
weftward, had not ceafed to fet to the northward,
between the loth and the 23d of July^ but that,
in the fame interval, they had fet to the eaftward ;
that their compound diredion had been north 32
or 33^ eaft ^ and that their efFedt on the fliip's run
might be eftimated at three miles in twenty-four
hours ^.
The obfervations of the 24th confirmed the
direction of the currents towards the eaft f.
Others of the 27th, made at twenty-fix minutes
after four in the evening, gave 25° 32^ of weft
longitude for noon, and the latitude obferved at
the fame inftant, was 41° 13' J.
On the 2nd of Auguft, at five o'clock in the
morning, our navigators had the firft fight of the
land of Europe, in the vicinity of Cape St. Vin-
cent ; it extended from north by eaft to fouth by
weft. The haze did not allow of their diftinguifti-
ing even the extremity of the cape ; but yet they
might conclude that their diftance from the coaft
was not more than four leagues.
At noon, they had a diftindt view of it, and
Cape St. Vincent, which the obfervations of
; * See Note LXXVI. f See Note LXXVIL
t Sfe Note LXXVIII.
208
MAilCHAND's VOYAGE. [July I792.
BoRDA, in 17765 have fixed in 37^ 2' 20'^ north
latitude, and 1 1"^ 2 1' 36'^ weft longitude*, bore
eaft half fouth, at the diftance of two leagues and
a half eftimated by the eye. The Solide's latitude
was therefore, at that moment, 37° 3' (it was
obferved on board the fhip 37^ 2') and her lon-
gitude 11^ 30' 56^'. In comparing this pofition
with that which would have been given by the
dead reckoning, deduced from the obfervations
made at fea on the 27th, it will be found that,
in the interval of fix days, the movement of the
waters carried the fhip, beyond her apparent
progrefs, 1° 26^ or about fixty-fix miles to the
eaftward, at the fame time that it carried her
thirty-two miles to the fouthward. On approach-
ing the Strait of Gibraltar, Captain Marchand
expedted to experience the efie6l of an eafterly
current; but the movement of the waters to-
wards the fouth has a very different caufe : if we
recoiled: that it was then the beginning of Auguft,
perhaps we lliall be inclined to attribute this ac-
cidental current towards the fouth, to the melting
of the fnow and ice of Greenland, Iceland,
J^APLAND, Norway, &cf.
The fight of Cape St. Vincent having made
known the true pofition of the Ihip, Captain Mar-
* Determinations taken from a manufeript communicated by
him.
+ See Note LXXIX.
CHAND
Aug. 1792.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
209
CHAND directed his courfe for the Strait of
Gibraltar.
On the 4thj at five o'clock in the morning, Cape
Spart ' L on the coaft of Africa bore fouth-eaft,
at the diftance of two miles and one-third, efli-
mated by the eye. This cape, according to the
obfervations of Borda, made in 1776, is fituated
in 35° 47' 20'^ north latitude, and 8° 14^ weft longi-
tude : the SoLiDE*s latitude was therefore 35° 49'
and her longitude 8^ i6^ If this pofition be com-
pared with that indicated by the dead reckoning
from the 2nd at noon -, it will be feen that, in the
interval of one day and feventeen hours, the fhip
had been carried to the eaftward, beyond her ap-
parent progrefs towards that fide, 37 minutes, or
thirty miles, and, confequently, at the rate of
feventeen miles and a half, or near fix leagues in
twenty-four hours*.
The current towards the eaft runs here with its
greateft force : confined between the lands of
Europe, which, from Cape St. Vincent, ftretch
from weft- north- weft to eaft-fouth-eaft, and thofe
of Africa, which, from Cape Cantin, extend
from fouth-weft to north-eaft, the waters difcharge
themfelves into the wide mouth of a fort of funnel^
the orifice of which is the Strait of Gibraltar ;
and in the Strait itfelf, the current acquires the
rapidity of a great river flowing majeftically into
* NoteLXXX,
TOI.. II, P
the
21 O
\ MARCHANDAS VOYAGÉ. [Aug. 1792.
the Mediterranean, and whofe velocity aug-
ments or diminiflies, according as the ofcillation
of the tides raifes the waters or lowers them : and,
indeed, it is not uncommon for fliips, without
being affiled by the wind, fometimes even with a
wind contrary to the courfe, to be carried, in no
great fpace of time, from the Atlantic Ocean
into the Mediterranean.
At fix o'clock in the morning, the Solide entered
- the Strait with eight other veiïels which were fleer-
ing the fame courfe : the currents carried her ra-
pidly into the Mediterranean -, and at half paft
ten, ihe was running up it with a free wind. In
ten days, lîie reached the coaft of France; and
on the 14th,. at half paft five o'clock in the even-
ing, flie came to an anchor in the inner road of
Toulon, and happily terminated her Voyage
ROUND the World.
The laft run of the Solide, from the Ifle of
Réunion to Europe, which is about three thou-
fand five hundred leagues, by the log, was made
in one hundred and fifteen days, including a day
and a half fpent at anchor off the Ifland of St.
Helena : thus, we may reckon that the fhip's
mean rate of failing, during this run, was thirty
leagues and a half in twenty-four hours.
Captain; March an d's voyage is remarkable
from the fhort fpace of time which he employed
in circumnavigating the globe, direding his route
by Cape Horn, and returning by China. The
total
Aug. 1792.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
211
total duration of the voyage, or the abfence of
the ihip from the ports of France, was twenty-
months or fix hundred and eight days: but if we
deduél from this number the fum of the days em-
ployed in his ftay in port at La Pray a, La
Madre de Dios, Tchinkitanay, Macao, and
at the Ifles of France and of Réunion, and at
St. Helena, amounting together to one hundred
and ten 5 and about ten other days loft, whether
off the Revolution Iflands, in examining them,
or off the Sandwich Iflands, in procuring refrefh-
ments there ; whether in lying to, or in ftanding
on and off on the coaft of Queen Charlotte's
Iflands, while with the long-boat. Captain Chanal
was vifiting Cloak Bay, Cox*s Channel, and the
harbours and coves comprehended between this
northern part of the iflands and Rennel's Chan-
nel ; whether, in fiiort, at anchor in the China
Sea, in Caspar's Strait, and in that of Sunda,
to ftop tide, when its diredlion was contrary to
the route which it was intended to hold ; there
will remain only four hundred and eighty-eight
days, or fixteen months and eight days for the
duration of the voyage j and in this fpace of time,
the fliip, according to the log-book, failed four-
teen thoufand three hundred and twenty-eight
marine leagues -, which gives, for the mean day,
twenty-nine leagues four-tenths.
I obferve that the fliip was not what feamen
call a prime Jailer : built for refifting the fatigues
p 2 ^ of
2iZ
marchand's voyage. [Aug. 17920
of a long voyage, and flruggling againîl the waves
in bad v/eather, fhe v/as Solide in reality as well
as by name; but fhe poffeffed not the qualities
that conftitute a faft-failing fhip ; and her mafts
and yards were not in proportion to the body
which her fails had to move : and, indeed, in ,
clofely examining the log-book, we fee but a very
fmall number of days in which, with a fair wind,
and carrying a prefs of fail, the fhip's run ex-
ceeded forty leagues. It is not then to the fwifc-
nefs of her failing that we muft attribute the fhort-
nefs of her voyage ; but that having always made
diredl courfes, in order to repair from one place
to another, the itinerary length of each run was
materially fhortened. , We may fuppofe, without
llraining the.calculation, that, under the fame cir-
cumftances of weather, a faft-failing veiTcl would
have obtained a mean fwiftnefs of thirty-three
leagues in twenty-four hours, and that, in the fpace
of four hundred and thirty-four days, fhe would
have run the fame diftance of fourteen thoufand
three hundred and twenty-eight leagues, for which
the Solide was obliged to employ four hundred
and eighty eight.
It may be remarked that, although Captain
Marchand made, as I have faid, all his runs by
diredl courfes ; although, by means of aftronomi-
cal obfervations which guarded him agalnft errors
in the route, he was enabled to fail v/ith fafety
from one place to another by the fliorteft line,
yet
Aug. 1792.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGI. 213
yet he was obliged, in order to circumnavigate
the globe, whofe circumference at the equator is
only feven thoufand two hundred leagues, to tra-
verfe fourteen thoufand three hundred and twenty-
eight : that is to fay, that he traverfed, very
nearly, the equivalent of twice the circumference
of the earth.
When we have made this remark, and we caft
our eyes on the map of the world, we fee that, if
the labour of man, or one of thofe great convul-
lions which have feparated Calpe from Abyla,
England from France, and perhaps to the
northward, America from Asia, fliould ever, on
the one hand, cleave the ifthmus which joins the
great peninfula of Africa to the mafs of the Old
Continent, on the other, that which of the two
Americas maizes one continued land, the Voyage
round the World would be fhortened by one half ;
and the time required for the circumnavigation of
the globe would not exceed feven or eight months;
And we fliould be wrong to fuppofe that to
open a paflage by water acrofs both continents, if
not to fhipping, at leafl: to merchandife, is a work
above human power, and the means of which it
is given us to difpofe. The unanimous teftimony
of the hiftorians of antiquity and that of the Arabic
authors permit us not to doubt that there has
exifted a canal, by which the Mediterranean
and the Nile communicated with the Arabian
p J Gulf
i
âl4 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Aug. I792»
GuLF or Red Sea*. And why fhould not this
communication be again opened ? Who can now
be
* The ancient communication of the Mediterranean with the
'Red Sea has frequently been an objed of inquiry among hiftorians
and geographers. We find in the Mémoires de V Acadim'te des
Sciences (of the year 1702, pages 83 and following of VHiJioire)
that M. Boutiery Conful of France in Egypt, in examining the
difpofition of the Delta at the beginning of this century, re-
marked the end of a canal iffuing from the eaftern branch of
the Nile : and this obfervation was feized by the learned Guil^
laume Delijle who judged that this end of a canal muft have
been that which anciently formed the communication of the
Mediterranean and the Nile with the Red Sea,
As this ancient communication (fays Fontenelle, the Hifto.
rian of the Academy), which M. Dejlile eftablifhed for an un-
queftionable fad, is unknown at this day even to feveral of
the learned, they were very glad to fee the proofs that he had
of it ; and he gave them fo clear, and taken from places fo
well known, that all the difficulty is to afcertain why every
one has not remarked them ?'*
We have, perhaps, more reafon at this day than they had in
the year 1702, to be 'very glad to fee theje proofs : there are cir-
cumftances which, by a feries of comparifons, give things the
moft ancient the attraction and intereft of novelty; we have a
curiofity to know what has been done at another time, when we
are anxious to know what might ftill be done.
Deflile has drawn from the hiftorians of antiquity and the
Arabic authors the proofs which he gave to the Academy of
Sciences ; I take them from the Hifiory of that Society ; and it
will be fufficient to mention the principal ones.
Herodotus (Book II) fays that there was in the plain of Egypt,
a canal cut a little above the city of Bubafiisf and below a moun-
tain that ran towards Memphis ; that this canal extended very far
from weft to eaft ; that afterwards it turned oft' to the fouth,
and extended to the R,ed Sea* According to hiift, this work
beguq
Aug. Î792.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE,-
215
be made to believe that the Moderns cannot ac-
compiifh what it was poffible for the Ancients to
perfojm ?
begim and abandoned by Nechosy Ton of P/ammetkhus, was re-
fumed and completed by Darius fon of Hyftafpes : two gallics
could pafs there abreafl. ( Pfammetichm afcended the throne 670
years before Chrill, and reigned 55: years : J) anus, 522 years
before Cbrift.)
Diodorus (in the firft book of his BibliothecaJ gives a defcrip-
tion of the canal, which agrees with that of Herodotus, from
which it differs only in his caufing the canal to be left imper-
fect by Darius, to whom fome very unlkilful engineers repre-
fented that the Red Sea, being higher than Egypt, would inun-
date it, and in his caufing it not to be finifhed but by Ptolemy
Philadelphus : he adds that the canal could be opened and fhut
.according as it was necelTary for navigation, f Ptolemy began
to reign 285 years before Chrift.) We (hall not here enter into
a chronological difcuiîion : the canal has exifted, the two hifto^
rians agree on this point ; but at what time, or under what reign
was it finifhed ? This is rather a matter of indifference as to
the queflion on which we are occupied.
Strabo (ifl Book of his Geography) agrees in all points with
Diodorus, He informs us, befides, that at the point of the gulf
which is called the Red Sea, were two cities Heroopolis, and
Arfmoe^ alfo named Cleopatris ; and, fpeaking of the expedition
made into Arabia by JEUus Gallus, the firfl governor of Egypt
for the . Romans, he fays that Gallus caufed veffels to be built
.near an ancient canal branching from the Nile,
Ehnanciyius, an Arabic author (Book I, Chapter III) fays that,
under the Caliph Omar, about the year 635 of the Chriflian Era,
a canal was made for the conveyance of corn from Egypt into
Arabia ; and it is probable that he did no more than repair
the old one, the navigation of which might pofTibly have been
abandoned in the decline of the Roman Empire. But, in the
year 150 of the Hegira (735 of the Chriftian Era) Abugiafar
Almanzor, the fécond caliph of the AhbaJJides^ caufed the canal
to be flopped up towards the fea.
p 4 ^* After
2l6
marchand's voyage. [Aug. 1792.
perform ? Asia may again be approximated to
Europe, from which the difcovery of the Cape
of Good Hope feems, as it v>/ere, to have ihcreafed
its diflance : commerce may again open ancient
routes, the track of which is not fo effaced that
we cannot find it again -, its operations may acquire
an adlivity which they will never obtain while that
-long circumnavigation of Africa to which they
are fubjed, fhali be the only prad'cicable route by
which we can maintain commercial communica-
After this," fays the hiftorian of the Academy, " we may
difpenfe with fome authorities which have alfo been mentioned
^' by M. Del'tjle. Every one is acquainted with the intention
*^ which fome princes had had of eftablifhing a communication
between the Med'tterrmiean and the Red Sea ; every one
knows that it was overfet by the chimerical fear of an inun-
dation; and as if moft readers had been ftruck by the fame
fear, they have not feen in authors the entire execution of the
** canal. If ever this junftion be renewed, the face of the world
<^ would be changed; China iind France^ for infiance, would
become neighbours ; and v/e ihould lament the deftiny of thofe
*^ barbarous ages in which Europeans were obliged to make the
tour of Africa in order to go to AJta,"
y. y. Oberlinus, who has given a complete Treatife on the
junftion-canals of rivers and feas in all ages, mentions and
learnedly difcuffes every thing that relates to the canal of
Ptolemy, and difpels all the doubts which may ever have arifen
refpeding the ancient communication fi-om the Mediterranean
and the Nile to the Red Sea (See Jun^endorum Mar mm Flu-
ru'iorumque omnls Mt't Molbnina. Aud, Jer. Jua. Oherllnus, SiC,
Argentorati. 1775, ..to edition, pages 39 to 47.)
The reader may alfo confult the Dejcri^t'mt de V Egypte by
Mailkt,
tions
Aug. 1792.] marchand's voyage.
217
tions between the contiguous lands of the eaft and
weft parts of the Old World*.
On the fide of the New, we fliall not require a
cut to be made in the mountains which form the
ifthmus of Darien, that bridge of communica-
tion between the two Americas; we have loft
both the fecret of Hercules and that of Hanni-
* The following pafiage, which we have taken from that
jnuch-admired publication, the Precis des E'vhtemens Militaires^
muft diffipate every exifting doubt as to the lituation of the canal
between the Red Sea and the Nile, and convince the reader that,
fliould the French retain polTefTion of Egypt, nothing, within the
compafs of human ability, will be left unattempted to reftore the
long-loft communication between the Red Sea and the Méditer^
vanean. — -Tranjlator,
The folution of this problem, the exillence of the canal,
which had joined the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, particu-
larly occupied Buonaparte ; towards the end of November,
1 799, he had detached under the command of General Bon, a
corps of 1 500 men, which had taken poifeflion of Sucx. ; on
the 26th of December, he went thither in perfon, accompanied
by Monge and Berthollet ; he firft took a very particular furvey
of the town, and adjacent coaft, ordered the conftruélion of
fome new works, provided for the defence of this important
poft, and made various arrangements favourable to commerce.
In order to remove the remaining doubts, Buonaparte^
" having afcended the north coaft, difcovered the entrance of
the canal, and followed it for the fpace of four leagues. Then
*f paffing through Fort d'Algerond, croiTmg the defert, and re-
turning by Belheïs, he again found, in the Oajls of Honoreh,
the veftiges of the canal of Suez,, at its entrance into the cui-
" tivated and watered lands of Lo<njoer Egypt : having thus in-
difputably afcertained the two ilTues, he charged Fey re, engi-
" neer of bridges and highways, to take the level of if, begin-
ning his operations at Suez." (See the Precis des E'vènemens
Militaires, No, IX, pages 213 and 214.)
BAL I
Sl8 MARCH AN d's VOYAGE. [Augi I792.
BAL ; but, on the infpe(5lion of the lands which
are fituated about thirty leagues to the north-weft
of this rocky ifthmus, and on the fuppofition that
the coaftsof this part of the continent, as well on
the eaft fea as on the weft, are difpofed and
fafhioned as the Spanilli charts reprefent them to
us, it is not fpeaking at random, perhaps, to fay
that if fkilfui engineers were at liberty to put in
practice the means which the ftudy of hydraulics
and mechanics afford them, they would contrive
to render navigable the river San Juan, the mouth
of which is fituated on the eaft coaft of the Pro-
vince of Nicaragua, on the Atlantic Ocean,
and which communicates by its fource with the
great lake of that name, which itfeif communi-
cates with the West Sea or the Great Ocean,
by the fork of Rio Partido (the divided River)
a branch of which appears to have its mouth in the
Gulf of Nicaragua, and the other in that of el
Papagayo, which belongs to the great fea*. And
it
* The projeft of the junftlon of the two Teas, by the river
San Juan and the lake of 'Nicaragua has prefented itfeif at all
times to thofe who have eaft an obfcrving eye on the continent
of America ; and if the Spanifh government have not attempted
the execution of it, undoubtedly it is not becaufe they have not
2 knowledge of it of a date as old as their poiTeffion of the country.
Their attention muft have been roufed anew by the inftruétive
Memoir which a French citizen, Martin de la Bafiide^ publiihed
in 1 79 1, under the title of Mémoire fur iin iSounjeau Pajfnge de
la Mer du Nord à la Mer du Sud {Paris Dtdotjy and in which
he has like an intelligent mao;, and with the zeal of conviction,
difculTed
Aug. 1792.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
219
it may even be prefumed that the labours which
would be required by the diredion of a canal, in
order to effe6t, in this part, the junftion of the
two oceans that furround the two continents,
would not furpafs, would not equal perhaps, thofc
which our RiQUET*executed fo fkilfully for crolTing
France
difcufied the poflibility and the advantages of a communication
between the two oceans. The Memoir was not favourably re-
ceived by the cabinet of Madrid, and this might well be ex-
pected. Every man who takes an intereft, from any motive
whatever, in the facility and extenlion of navigation and com-
merce, muft oifer up prayers that the author of the advertife-
ment, which precedes the memoir, may have rightly judged
when he fays, that ^' it is impoiîible that Spain can longer refift
the necelTity of opening a communication between the two
feas ; and that if her own intereft be not capable of deter-
mining her, the inftances of all nations muft end by com-
pelling her to it.'* Let us accept the augury ; but let us not
wait for circumnavigating the globe, till the projed be executed,
otherwife we might be condemned never to circumnavigate it
at all.
* Juftice here demands from us a candid obfervation. F,
Andreojfy was the firft who conceived the idea of the Canal of
Languedoc, which was not only planned by him, but entirely
completed under his immediate direftion. He communicated his
plan to Riquet, who prefented it to the great Colbert, and, as
foon as it had received the fanftion of Louis XIV, became the
contractor for all the works of that celebrated undertaking,
which he did not live to fee finifhed. However, in this, as in
many other inftances of the like nature, Riquef, not contend
with thence deriving every advantage of honours and emolument,
greedily fnatched from the original projedor the meed of fame,
fo juftly merited by the unremitting labour of thirty long years.
Pf the truth of thefe faéls we have the proofs now before us,
in
220
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Aug. I792.
Frange by the canal that joins the Mediterra-
nean to the Atlantic Ocean ; nor thofe which
the Swedes have undertaken, for eftablifhing an
interior communication between Gothenburg and
Stockholm, between the Catteg at and the Bal-
tic 3 nor thofe which Peter the Great and his
fucceflbrs have partly terminated, partly begun, for
making a communication between the Caspian
Sea, the Black Sea, the Baltic, and the White
Sea : and the expenfe of thefe labours, for ever
ufeful, would, no doubt, be inferior to that oc-
cafioned by a fingle war in Europe^ which deftroys
by the fword a million of its inhabitants, and re-
duces a ftill greater number to wretchednefs.
But it is not Nature that would oppofe the
greatefl obftacles to thefe enterprizes calculated to
render the age illuftrious, and do honour to the
governments to which all nations Ihould owe fuch
a benefit. The obftacles, in the Old World, are
conne6led with the dijfficulty, perhaps infurmount-
able, of carrying thé canal that fhould communi-
cate from the Nile to the Red Sea, acrofs thofe
unfortunate regions, alternately laid wafte by def-
potifm and anarchy, which are placed at too great
a diftance from the Sublime Porte, for the looks
of a Sultan, if ever he look, to be able to reach
in a work entitled Hljîoire du Cmtal du Midi, recently publlftiedi
and obligingly communicated to us by a friend of the author^
General AndreoJJy^'-^^TranJlatQrt
them,
Aug. 1792.] marchanb's voyage.
22Ë
them, and for the firmans of his Highnefs to be
carried into execution ; and in which we fee the
numerous chiefs who lliare, if not the property,
at leaft the enjoyment of them, often in rebellion
againft the fupreme authority, and always rivals
among themfclves, difputing with each other who
fhall impofe the heavieft tax on the merchandife
which, on the backs of camels, fucceflively tra-
verfes the different diilriéls that each of the op*
prefîbrs, in his turn, caufes to feel the weight of
his avarice and tyranny *. In the New World, a
different caufe produces a fimilar effe6t : the fufpi-
cious policy of the power that poffeffes exclufively
the mines of Mexico and Peru will never allow
the commerce of other nations to open itfelf a
road through poffeffions, the knowledge of which ^
it would wilh to conceal from every eye : in thofe
countries, the prefence of a ftranger is confidered
as a national peril.
If political diforder which reigns on the one
hand, if uneafy jealoufy which watches on the i
other, feem to refufe that our globe fliould be
circumnavigated from eaft to weftj Nature, on her
fide, has not chofen that it fhould be /o from fouth
to norths, either in the Atlantic Ocean between
Greenland and Lapland ; or in the Great
Boreal Ocean, between America and Asia by ^
* The reader will readily perceive that the French were not
in polTeffion of Egypt when this paflage was written. — Tranjla^^
tor.
Beering's
222 MARCHAND's VOYAGE. [Aug. 1792.
Beer I no's Strait. Every one is acquainted with
the fruitlefs attempts, begun upwards of three
hundred years paft, abandoned and refumed at dif-
ferent periods, to open, by the north- eafi and north-
wejfy a paflage whence it was fuppofed (which,
however, is problematical, at leaft in regard to
the north-eaft fide) that fhips might repair to
China and the East Indies by a fhorter route
than that of the Cape of Good Hope or that of '
Cape Horn: but perpetual ice obflrufts the feas
which border on either pole ; and all human in-
duilry, all efforts are unavailing againft this ob-
ftacle.
Let us refolve then to traverfe fourteen or fifteen
hundred leagues, in order to fail round the world,
^ fince it has pleafed the archite6t of worlds to give
it only feven thoufand two hundred leagues of cir-
cumference ; we fliall return to the projedl of
fhortening the route, if ever men, brought back
to the principle of Nature, and confidering them-
felves as one great family whofe common habita-
tion is our globe, at length confent to a commu-
nity of territory, and to a univerfal and perpetual
peace , but the philofopher who ftudies mankind,
and meditates on their hiftory, will not exped that
this pleafmg dream of the good Abbé de Saint-
Pierre can ever be realized.
I fhali not conclude this account of Captain
Marchandas voyage, without paying to his me-
mory the tribute of praife that is due to. him,
on
MARCH and' s VOYAGE.
223
on more accounts than one, for his whole conduft
in the expedition which he dire6ted as a com-
inander^ and in which he was ably feconded by
the intelligence and talents of Captains Masse and
Chanal, by the zeal and adivity of the reft of
his officers, by the good-will, fubordination, and
diligence of all the feamen employed under his
orders. Merchants and fhip-ov/ners would have
reafon to congratulate thcmfelves, and might be
cafy as to the fuccefs of their undertakings, if the
captains to whom they intruft their interefts, ac-
quitted themfelves of their employment, like thofe
belonging to the Solide, with the vigilance which
forefees dangers without fearing them ; the pru-
dence which calculates and prevents accidents ;
the experience which knows how to repair them ;
and the perfeverance which ends by mattering ob-
ftacles : yet, unfortunately, it is but too common
to fee unlkilfulnefs and carelefnefs expofe, at once,
both the fortune of the employer and the fafety of
the crew.
The run of three thoufand five hundred leagues,
which Captain Marchand made, in the fpace of
four months, from thelfle of France to Toulon,
without putting into any port on the route (for we
cannot reckon fuch a ftay of thirty-fix hours at St.
Helena), is an çxample to prefent to our cap-
tains, who, for the moft part, would think that
they could not repair diredly from India, or the
Isle of France, to a port in Europe without
6 touching
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
touching at the Cape of Good Hope, where the
defire of procuring a wine in high requeft in
France, the agreeablenefs of the place, the
charms of fociety, and the pi6lure of plenty^ de-
tain them beyond the time required by the wants
of the fhip -y without refleding that, to ftay in a
foreign port, is to pay a voluntary tribute to the
nation to which it belongs, f (ball alfo quote to
them the firft run of four thoufand three hundred
leagues, from Marseilles to the Marquesas de
Mendoça, the duration of which was fix months,
and in which rhe voyage was interrupted only by
a ftay of feventy hours in La Pray a Bay, in
order to procure water and refrefhments.
Commanders iefs zealous might objed that
humanity didates the necefîity of often putting
into port and aliov/ing feamen frequent opportu-
nities of repofe ; and that it is unavoidable, in the
courfe of long runs, for the crew to efcape the
attacks of the fcurvy, the progrefs of which it is
fb difficult to Hop, when it has once found its way
into a fhip. I know that, in fad, the ancient na-
vigators have had a melancholy experience of this^
and that the wifh, fo natural to man, to endeavour
to be acquainted with the différent parts of the
globe which he inhabits, has coft a great number
of its inhabitants their lives -, but I know too that,
when in the age in which we live, we fee a fimilar
calamity renewed, it can be attributed only to the
carelefnefs of the captain who has negleded the
prefer-
MARCHAND 's VOYAGg.
prefêrvation of his companions of fortune, or to
the avarice of the owner who has not fiipplied his
ihip with thofe antifcorbiiticsj at this day fo well
known, with thofe efficacious prefervatives, the
ufe of which Dodor Pringle in England^ and
Dodor Poissonnier in France, have introduced
on board fbips, with a fuccefs which to them has
been the mod grateful as well as the moft honour-
able reward for their zeal and refearehes. It is
with thefe aids, that Captain Cook preferved his
crews in the longeft runs, and in climates the moil
dreaded on account of the excefs of the heat or
the feverity of the cold ; it is with thefe fame
means, that La p£ rouse, after two years of the
moil laborious navigation, did not reckon a fmgle
fick man on board the two frigates employed in
his expedition *.
Nothing had been forgotten that could contri-
bute to the well-being of the Solide*s crev/, and
deftroy the germ of the diforder peculiar to fea-
faring people: in this refped, juft encomiums
and thanks arc due to the firm of Baux, of Mar-
seilles, who, after having conceived the projed
of the firft expedition which the trade of France
diredted towards the north-west coaft of Ame-
rica, had employed themfelves with paternal fot
licitude in providing their fhip v/ith all the prefer-
* See Vol. I. pages 29 and 30 what )au been faid conceining
the duration of thefe runs.
VOL, If,
vatives
I
226 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. |
i
vatives calculated for prote(5ling, from the deftruc- ;
tive fcourge of feamen, thofe valuable men^ who:> |
after having bravely defended the flag of their j
nation againft its enemies, devote themfelves during i
peace, to the profefTion more perilous than lucra-
tive, of enriching their country by commerce.
The beneficent views of the houfe of Baùx were
perfe6lly feconded by Surgeon Rob let, of whom
they had made choice to v/atch particularly over
the health of the Ihip's company : he joined to
all the theoretical and pradical knowledge of his 1
art, that fentimenc of humanity which renders a !
medical man fl<:ilfui in making up for what he has
not, in inventing means of relief, in creating re-
medies*, and in infuring their fuccefs by a perfe-
vering
* I have thought that it would be ufeful for the information
of the officers of health who devote themfelves to ftiare the
fatigues of feamen, to give an account of the treatment which
Surgeon Rob let introduced, and employed with the greateft fuc-
cefs, for flopping in a man belonging to the crew, the progrefs
of the fcurvy, which, when the SoUde quitted the Sandnvich
Iflands, had manifefted itfelf in this individual, with the moft
threatening fymptoms, fo much as to announce a very fpeedy.
difTolution : already, at the mere approach of land, three of hi?
teeth had fuddenly fallen out. The treatment of which he mada
ufe and which fucceeded, confills in the employment of the /and-
lath, dry and hot. The dry baths were known to the ancients,
who employed fand, fait, and millet-feed, Cornélius Celfiis, of
the Cornelia family, and phyfician to Atiguftusy haS partioilarly
treated of thefe forts of baths [d). In our days, they are known
anji
(a) Sudor et I am (fays he) duobus mod!: fltcUur^ aut Jicco calore, aui balnea t
ficcus calor eji et arena ca/idetf el /aconicit et clibanif i^c, Fomenfa quoqut
" caFida
Marchandas voyage* 227
Vefïng Vigilance in obferving their effe6ls. He
obtained the reward due to his talents, his a6live
folicltude
and employed^ on the coaft of Africa, and in the Wejî India
colonies, for certain diforders of the negroes, who are buried
up to the neck in fand which the fan has ftrongly heated. I
have read in a manufcript memoir of Rolling Surgeon-Major
of the Boujfole, written in 17 86, which, no doubt, will be
printed at the end of the account of La Péroufe'% voyage, that
the Americans who inhabit the north -njoeft coaftj towards the
latitude of 58"^ 40', alfo employ fand-baths as the moll efficacious
cure for the venereal cipmplaint which is common on that coaft.
The aélion of the oblique rays of the fun on the lands of North
America not being fufficient to give to the fand the degree of
heat neceffary, and procure copious fweats, they heat, by means
of artificial fire, the fand intended for the bath, as well as the
pit dug to receive the patient, who, on coming out of the
dry bath, waflies himfelf in the fea or in a neighbouring river*
But, till now, we have not heard of this kind of bath having
been made ufe of on board fhip, for treating, at fea, the feamen
among whom the fcurvy has attained its higheft degree of
malignity.
Surgeon Robtet wifliing to try the eiFevft'of the dry bath on
the fcorbutic patient, nearly given over, as has been already
mentioned^ caufed fome fand to be heated in greaat boiler, and
mixecl with it a quantity of cold fand fufficient for moderating
the heat of the former, and rendering it fupportable. The pa-
tient was put into this bath, into which he funk to the middle
of his thighs* The weather was dry and fine ; and at noon
RJaumur's thermometer rofe to 25 degrees. The patient was
left but half an hour in the fand ; his legs were at that time
benumbed efpecially the tendons of the extenfors, which Surgeon
Kohlet attributed to the irkfome polition that he had kept. He
caîida (adds he) funt mîllîuntt faU arena ; qmdlîbet eorum calafaEïum et în
i'lnieum conjeBum, See A. Cornelii Celfi Medicina Lîbr't oEioy ex recmj\
Leon Targue f 8cq, Lug, Bat» Luchtmàns 1785, 410. lib, II. parag,
Q 2 jm3-;^e
228
makchand's voyaoe.
folicitude, and the conflancy of his attention to the
men with whofe prefervation he had been intrufted.
In
i
made him lie down, recommending to him to keep himfelf fuf-
nciently covered not to experience the aélion of the exterior air.
After two hours' reft, the condition in which he found the pa-
tient, feemed to border on a miracle ; no more fivelling ; no
more ftiffnefs, even in the tendons ; the ecchymofes aîmoft dif-
perfed, and become yellow-iHi ; the foies of the feet, before very
painful, no longer caufing any fenfation ; in fhort, Surgeon Rohlet
had the fatisfaction to fee his experiment greatly exceed the
hopes which he had conceived from it. A week's fand-baths,
the fécond of one hour, and the others of two, were fiifficient for
eifefting the mod complete cure ; all the fymptoms of fcurvy dif.
appeared never to return ; and the man who had been threatened
with finking, in a few days, under the attacks of the diforder,
enjoyed, during the laft ten months of the expedition, -the moft
perfcd health.
" It will be for experience," fiys Surgeon Rohhty to make
known the advantages which may be derived from this treat-
ment of fcorbutic diforders. Already every thing announces
the greateft ii:ccefs : and if it amVer, in all fubjefts, to my
expeciatiofi, I fee nothing more eafy and lefs expenfive, than
" to provide every Hiipwith an iron bathing-tub, with a double
** bottom, in which can be introduced, without danger, the fire
intended for drying and heating the fand, and which can con-
tain the quantity fufficient for covering the legs and even the
" loins of the patient. Commander's of fliips will take care,
" befides, to fupply themfelves with three or four calks of fine
fand ; and I think that that which has been waHied by the
fea- water, ought to be'preferred to that of rivers, becaufe it
" contains faline particles, which are tonic. I am perfuaded,^'"
adds he,' that the ufe of tlie fand-bath can be extended with
advantage to the fwelling of the legs, which is the confequence
'* of chronic diforders ; to dropfies which are beginning, &c.
The
marci'iand's voyagf.. 229
; In the courfe of an expedition which lafted twenty
months, in the midfb of fatigues and privations,
after
The fuccefsful trial which Surgeon Roblet made of thefe baths,
in the treatment of a fcorbutic patient in whom the diforder
appeared to have attained the moft alarming period, will, I doubt
not, induce officers of health employed on board ftups, to make,
ufe of a curative method which a decifive experiment, made hy
a good cbferver, muft render worthy of imitation. But, at the
fame time, they will confider it only as an additional curative ;
s^nd they will not negled to affociate to it, according as neceflity
(hall indicate, thofe which have been already adopted in the
pradice of phyfic, and of which experience has alfo confecrated
the ufe and proved the falutary efFeds : neither will they negled
tlie employment of the other aids which can exempt them from
recurring to mrati'ves ; and furely they will judge that, to pre-
vent the fcurvy in long voyages, they ought to continue to em-
ploy the prefer'vati've- whofe efficacy is tried ; fuch as herbs and
legumes pickled in vinegar, coffee, muftard, wort, lemon robe,
&c. &c, &c, as well as fpirit of vitriol, mixed in a flight degree
in the water that ferves for the drink of the crew. My objec'l
is not here to recall to mind all the prefern^ati<ves known to pro-
feffional men ; but in treating of this article, I muft not forget
to place at the head of the lift, the moft powerful, the moft effi-
cacious of all, exceffive cleanlinefs : I fay exceffinjcy becaufe it
muft extend to the moft minute particulars, and which might
appear exaggerated, perhaps even ridiculous, to thofe whoj
breathing all their life the pure air of our country-places or of
our cities, are ignorant to what a degree the cleanlinefs of a
Oiip and of the men on board, afperfions of vinegar, fumigations,
perfumes, ventilators, &c. are necefiary, for maintaining in this
floating houfe, at once, a ftore room of corruptible provifions,
a pig-ftye,^ fheep-pen, poultry-yard, and hofpital, an air that is
not mephitical, and does not carry with it a caufe ever prefent,
ever aéling, of difeafe and deftruftion. It would be fuperfluous,
no doubt, to recommend to feampn, to add to the prefer-uati'v^.s
^pd curative$i the ufe of legumes, herbs, fifti, meats, and other
230
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE,
after having traverfed every climate, and expe.^
rienced every variation of temperature^ the Solide
loft only one man out of fifty who compofed her
crew ; and this man died of a fpecies of apoplexy:
in the ordinary flate of fociety, more than one in-
dividual in fifty dies in the fpace of twenty months,
fuppofing them to be thirty years of age, which
is that we mufl: reckon for the mean age of a fhip's
company*.
The pieftrvation of the people and the intereft
of the owners conflantly fliared the folicitude and
care of Captain Marchand. The former objeâ:
he accomplifhed, by the attention which he paid
to the employment of every means that could con-
tribute to maintain the good health of the compa-
nions of his labours; the latter he fulfilled, by
employing himfelf afîlduoufly, in concert Vv^ith
Captain Chanal, in aftronomical obfervations,
which, by rectifying the errors unavoidable in the
frcQi provifions, whenever the opportunity, always wilhed for|
prefents itfelf of piocuring them for the confumption of the
crew.
* It is proved, from the calculation of the probabilities of
human life, founded on inquiries the moft numerous and the moft
cxad, that, out of five hundred individuals whofe mean age is
thirty, fifteen die in the fpace of twenty months : in following
this proportion, out of fifty individuals of the fame age, there
niuft die, in the fame fpace of time, ar leaft one, and perhaps
two, fince the calculation gives one and a half. (Note commu-
Tiicated by Citizen Dirotllard, alTociated member of the National,
Iftilitute of Arts and Sciences.)
dead
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
dead reckoning, gave him the advantage of being
able to fhorten his runs, and the confidence of
making the land with fafet7 and precifion at all the
places at which he propofed to touch. Each of
his land-falls may be quoted as a proof of the
correftnefs of his operations, at the fame time
that, in order to determine the longitude, there is
a neceffity for making ufe of thofe means fo long
wiihed for, fo long expeded, of thofe new and
invaluable methods, to which a further degree of
precifion is added by the concurrence of two ob-
fervers, whofe obfervations and calculations reci-
procally control and redify each other.
it may excite aftonifliment, that, in concluding,
I fhould recur to a remark, which, at different pe-
riods of the voyage, I have taken care to bring
forward ; and, undoubtedly, there is no one who is
not perfuaded that feamen have been eager to pro-
mote and employ methods, the advantage of which
is manifeft, and which are refults fet within their
reach, theories the moft fublime and combinations
the moft ingenious. I would wilh to have praifes
only to beftowi and it is painful, for a Veteran of
the Navy^ to have reproaches to make to thofe who
are engaged in the profeffion ; but I ûiould merit
them myfelf, if a culpable referve induced me to
keep filence. It is time to roufe French navi-
gators from the humiliating apathy which keeps
them in the lhackles of an old routine^ and prevents
them from turning to account/ for the fuccefs of
0^4 tha
.£33 mârchand's voyage.
the enterprifes that arc intrufted to them, and f6f
their own fafety, the difcoveries, which, for half a
century paft, geometry, aftronomy, and mechanics,
rivals in fuccefs as in labours, have added to the
domain of the fciences, ^nd the only objed of all
which is to infure and abridge the route of the
navigator. Will it be believed that France does
not reckon a hundred fearaen (and I might reduce
the number to much below the half) who know
how to employ at fea, the obfervation of the
moon*s diftance from the fun or ftars; to make
ufe of the machines proper for keeping, as m
truft, the time of the place from which the depar-
ture is taken ; and deduce, from either method, or
from the two combined together, under what me-
ridian, on a given day, the flriip is arrived ? What
avails it that the Board of Longitude of France,
like that of England, calculates with all the pre-
cifion required for the perfe6lion of thefe great
theories, the auxiliary tables which facilitate and
abridge the calculation of the obfervaticiis ; and
that thefe tables, confecrated, for the moil parr, to
the ufe of our navigators, are publiflied, for every
year, feveral years in advance, in order that fhips
intended for diftant expeditions, may, on their de-
parture from Europe, be provided with them for
the whole duration of the longeft voyages ? What
avails it that Ferdinand Berthoud, by opening
to the French artifts a new career, by creating, for
the navy, an art of clock- making, which may be
called^
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE»
called tranfcendenty has found means to combine the
mod finifhed execution with the moft fubtle theo-
ry*, and that Loui^ Berthoud, treading in the
fleps of Ferdinand, has, for the ufe of feamen,
multiplied thofe ingenious machines, mafler-pieces
of mcchanifm, with which they can daily, and fe-
veral times a day, folve the problem of the lon-
gitude at fea, and, in a little time, correft or
improve all hydrography ? What avails it diat
Borda has prefented to the French navy, for ob-
ferving at fea the altitudes and diftances of the
luminaries, an inftrument which the fmallnefs of
its bulk renders as portable, as convenient for ufe^
as the excellence of its principles renders it certaia
and exad in its refults ? What avails it, in fiiort^
that he and our geometricians have applied themr
felves to, and fucceeded in, finding methods of
* This artift. Member of the National Inftitute of Arts and
Sciences, no lefs commendable from his difintereftednefs than from
the fecundity of his genius,, has publilhed, without referve, at
different periods^ the refults of his numerous refearches and
immenfe labours refpefting machines calculated for meafuring
time, and thofe the fpecial purpofe of which is |p determine the
longitude at fea. In order to make the reader fenfible of all
the importance of this publication, it will be fufficiént to fay,
that an artift, named Armand, conftrufted at Capenhagen, with-
out any other affiftance than the works of Ferdinand BertJjoud,
and the plates which he has annexed to them, time-pieces, of
which M. de Lo^enornj Captain in the Danifh Navy, a great
proficient in aftronomy, made ufe with fuccefs for finding the
longitude at fea. (See Ob/ervationes Afiron. wftttut^ m Ohjernjq^
tor 10 Regio Haunienjty c. Au8ore Thoma Bugge, ^c. HaH7ii(t^
ï78|. TypU Aulcs Regiœ 4to. page XCVIII.)
marchand's voyage.
fimpUfication, by the help of which the biifinefs of
computation that remains for the feaman to per-
form, after his obfervations for the longitude, be-
comes, as it were, only a manual operation, which
requires no knowledge of the theories, which nei^
ther fubjeds him to a calculation more long nor
more difficult than that which he daily impofed
on himfelf, to learn by a coarfe approximation
the adlual pofition of his Ihip, and to attain, by
a lame procefs, an erroneous refult ? In the period
at which we are arrived, the arts and fciences have
left to the feaman to perform, for the purpofe of
regulating his navigation, only what it was not
pofîible to do beforehand, in order to fave him
the labour of it. And the feaman remains infenfi-
ble before thefe produdlions of genius, of which
he was the objed ! And the admiration with
which they ought to infpire him, can neither ex-
cite his zeal nor his vanity, nor awaken in him the
fêntiment of his intereft ! And the men of fcience
and the artifts, who have devoted themfelves with
equal fuccefs and ardour, to thefe laborious re-
fearches, are ftill to exped the only reward that
they had annexed to their labours, the fatisfadion
of feeing that thofe to whom they were confecrated,
fliould haften to gather the fruits of them !
It is time that, in this refpedl, our humiliation
fhould ceafe : the reign ot ignorance is long fince
pafTed for feamen -, it is no longer enough for thein
to be brave warriors, intrepid navigators ; their
5 honour^
MARCHAND's VOYAG^t.
honour, the national honour impofe on them the
obligation of knowing that of which it is ho longer
pardonable for them to be ignorant. If it; were
requifite for Frenchmrn to be ftimulated by the
example of a rival nation, I fhould fay to our na-
vigators, that there is not a fingle Englifli captain,
employed in long voyages, who does notât this
day make ufe of the new methods for determining
the longitude of his fh\p; I fliould fay to them that
it is with this help, that the navigation of our ene-
mies boldly embraces the two hemifpheres -, and
^that every pojnt of the globe at which an Englifh
' Ihip touches, now acquires a determined fituation
with refpe6l to the other points of the earth, which
ten centuries of a navigation of routine would never
have fucceeded in fixing. In fpeaking to feamen,
I fhall not add to views of general utiUty, the par-
ticular motive of their own prefervation ; I know
too well that, from principle and habit, they def-
pife danger -, I know that, in the height of a ftorm,
when the fea threatens to fwajlow them up, at the
fight of the ihoal againft which the plank that
feparates them from the briny abyfs may be fplit in
pieces, wholly occupied w^ith the fafety of the fliip
intruded to their charge, one thought alone of the
future can be alTociated in their mind with the rapid
combinations which require the prefent effort of
all their faculties ; H^c olim meminijfe juvahlt i they
love to prepare for themfelves recollerions. But
let them learn to be fatisfied with the conflids
which
M-ÀRCHAÎS! d's voyage.
which the revolted elements ceafe not to wage with
the navigator v/ho wifhes to conquer them: let
their indifference not make them difdain the helps
that are offered for refcuing them from the dangers
which it is poffible to avoid, which it is not glo-
rious to brave : what ! will not adverfe fortune
always referve to herfelf too many for exercifmg
nobly the courage of our Argonauts, and filling
the page of naval hiftory with the account of thofe
terrible events, which infure to the fuperior genius
who maflers them, the applaufe of the prefentage,
and a long remembrance in ages to come ?
Paris the 20th Germinal> year V. of the French era*
(April 9th, 1797.)
P. o. Captain Chanal*s journal, having clofed
on the arrival of the Solide in the harbour of Tou-
jLON, could not give an account of the fuccefs of
the expedition as a commercial fpeculation , but
fomc notes fubfequently communicated to me by
the firm of Baux, have made known the final re-
fult of the adventure. The plan had been per-
fc6lly well çonceivedj and if the prohibition iiTued
at China, which could not be forefeen, had not
thwarted it in the outfet, the iliip flieathed with
copper, and copper- faflened, built and equipped,
in every refpe6l, for keeping the fea for three or
four years, without needing any other repairs than
thofe which accidents might neceffitate, provided
with four complete fuits of fails and four fets of
i rigging
MARCHAND's V0YA02,
rigging, with an immenfc ftock of provlfions, and
anaffortment of articles for trade fufficient for a
long feries of operations *, might, after her firft
touching at Macao at the end of eight months,
* The houfe of Baux, wifhing to be certain that all the works
of our manufadories which they intended to be employed in
traffic with the Americans of the north-nMeft coaft, Ihould be
well-conditioned and of the firft quality, thought that they
could do no better than intruft the houfe of GuiUmud father
and fon, Manufadurers at St, Etienne^ trading to Lyotis, and
holders of a ihare in the Solide'5 expedition, with the fabrication
of all the articles of hard-ware, arms for the favages, tools, and
different implements, which the experience of preceding voyages
had indicated as proper to be admitted with moft facility and ad-
vantage in the fur-trade. The houfe of GuUliazidf in executing
this commiffion, exerted all the intelligence of very well-informed
and enlightened merchants, and all the zeal with which they
were infpired by the importance of the expedition, the objeél,
of which was known to them. But a confiderable demand for
halberts and other offenfivc arms, the fabrication of which em-
ployed feveral workfhops fcattered through the country, could
not but throw an alarm among ignorant, i^fpicious, and reftlefs
men, whom liberty had juft fuddenly armed, and who thought
they faw, in this coiledion of arms, counter-revolutionary pre.«
paratives and means. It was net without infinite pains on the
part of the houfe of QinUiaud, nor without repeated danger to
their perfons, that after feven or eight months oppofition on the
one hand, and perfeverance on the other, the municipalities of
Lyonsy St. Chamonti and St. Etienne , to whom the objeél and the
deftination of the arms were perfedly known, and who wiflied
to fee them difpatched, at length fucceeded in calming the agi-
tated minds of thefe men ; and, with the fupport of a corps of
twelve hundred men which was paffmg through St. Chamont,
fent off from this commune and direéled towards Mar/ellhsf
thofe terrible halberts, of the kind ufed by our parilh-beadles,
the fight alone of which had fpread alarm in the town and its
environs.
have
Marchandas voyagé^
have eafily undertaken, before her return tô
France, two more voyages from China to the
coafl of America : and our navigators would have
had the certainty of getting the ftart, at both places^-
of all the veflels that might have been difpatched,
either from Europe, or from the United States,
and of having for competitors none but thofe
which, failing from the Ports of Asia, might have
been engaged in a fimilar fcheme. On her third
voyage to Canton, they would have converted
into teas, filks, and the other produ6lions of Chi-*
NA, the whole of the produce of her three trips :
and it is impoiïible to eftimate to what fum might
have amounted the joint profit of thefe combined
.operations. Fortune ordained otherwifé : the pro-
duce of the firft trip not having been able to find
vent. Captain Marchand gave up all thought
of a fécond ; every farther operation was neceffa-
rily flopped ; and as a fole and wretched refource,
the cargo of furs was brought to France. It
was immediately fent to Lyons, where the com-
mercial concerns of the place, and the favourable
feafon might promife no inconfiderable advantages
in the fale -, but it arrived there only a few days
before the period when that unfortunate city, torn
by civil war, experienced all the horrors of a long
fiege : in the midft of fire and devaftation, the furs
belonging to the houfe of Baux were feized ; and,
being , forgotten under the feals, notwithflanding
their remonftrances, which were rendered more
urgent
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
urgent by the danger of delay, they became a
prey to the worms. But the owners of the Solide^
no Icfs zealous for the profperity of their country,
than difinterefled in their (peculation, will think
themfelves indemnified for the lofs of two-thirds
of their capital, if the new path which they have
opened to French merchants, who, no doubt, will
take care to engage in it with prudence, and mea-
fure their operations by probabilities, can one day
procure an additional .outlet for the national in-
duftry ; and, for the State, a mean of forming, in
thofe long voyages which exercife courage and
ripen talent, feamen who join to the intrepidity
that braves dangers, the experience that teaches
to avoid them.
ENGLISH
40
MARCHAND S VOYAGE<
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MARCHAND S VOYAGE.
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MARCHAND s VOYAGE.
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VOCABULARY
marchand's voyage.
VOCABULARY
OF
W A H I T A H 6,
(OR MENDANA'S SANTA CHRISTIANA,)
ONE OF THE
ISLANDS OF THE ARCHIPELAGO
OF
LAS MARQUESAS DE MENDOCA,
T HAVE thought that it would be ufeful to pre-
fent, in a comparative table, the Vocabulary
which Captain Cook has given us, that for which
we are indebted to John Reînhold Forster,
and thofe which Captain Chanal and Surgeon
RoBLET have feverally compiled.
The reader will remark, in the words which are
common to the four vocabularies, the differences
that partly depend on the different manner in
which they were heard, and ftill more on the diffe-
rent manner in which they were written in order
to fix their pronunciation, I have deemed it ex-
. pedient
«<54
MARCHAND*S VOYAGE.
i
I
pedient to preferve them fuch as each voyager has
reprefented them, with the articles and the other
ligns that he has employed for indicating the |
founds which he means Ihouid be emitted in pro-
nouncing them.
The vocabulary of Captain Cook is taken from
the Table of comparifon of the languages of the
iflands of the Gsleat Ocean, which he has given
us in the fécond volume of his fécond voyage,
page 364.
He apprizes us that the double vowels in italics,
• oOy eCy are to be founded as one : for the French, 00
reprefent the diphthong ou^ and ee^ the long vowel u
The diarefts vowels, that is to fay, accented
with two points, are to be pronounced feparatcly :
thus, in oe Englilh, which is oi for the French
pronunciation, each of the vowels is to form a
fyllable.
The accent placed before the word indicates that
the chief ftrefs in pronunciation is to be laid on
the firil letter or fyllable of the word ; but if the -
accent be over the firft letter, or over another letter
in the courfe of a word, the ftrefs is to be laid on
the fyllable which immediately follows the accent.
A comma (or what, from its form, we fliould
call an acute accent), placed in the middle of a
word, either fignifies that it is compounded of two
words, or that the fame fyllable repeated forms
the word : in both cafes, a fmall paufe is to be
6 made
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
made in the place indicated by. the comma (or
accent.)
A Frenchman who wifhes to pronounce, fo as to
be underftood by a Mendoqan, the names written in
Cook's vocabulary, muft obferve that A Englifli
there anfwers to A French — AI to Ê — E to / —
O to O — 00 to OU diphthong — OU to AOU — ,
Y to AI.
Rhinhold Forster has employed, in his vo-
cabulary, accents and other figns placed over the
letters in order to fignify how he , wifhes they
fliould be pronounced ; but he gives no explana-
tion of thefe figns. I have preferved them as
they are feen in the original, without choofing to
venture to explain them : I think, however, that,
by the affiftance of what is faid in regard to
Cook's vocabulary, Forster's intention may be
divined *.
Captain Chanal has made ufe of the fign of
the Latin profody, which indicates that the fylla-
ble, over which it is placed, is long : he has, be-
fides, given to the acute accent, to the circumflex
accent, and to the diarefis of the French orthogra-
phy, their ordinary fun6tion with which every
one is acquainted. The words of his vocabulary
are to be pronounced as if they were written in
French, and all the H\ are to be afpirated.
Moft of the words, which he has there infcrted,
* See /. Forfter' s ObfervattonSf Sec, page 284,
were
mâuchand's voyage*
were collefted feparately by Captain Marchand
aiid himfelf: the words refpedling which they
have agreed (and this is the greater number) bear
no mark ; but thofe concerning which they have
differed, are written jn the two ways in which
they heard them ; and each word is followed by
the initial letter of the name of the obferver :
thofe which are marked with a * were colledbed
by Captain Chanal, and thofe accompanied by
**, by Captain Marchand.
The vocabulary of Surgeon Rob let is accented
for the French pronunciation, and mull be read as
if the words were French, but all the H's muO:
be afpirated.
It mud be obferved, that the Mendoçans, in
Ipeaking, moft commonly place an A or an E, and
fometimes, but more rarely, an O, at the begin-
ning of a word ; frequently too they fupprefs it :
thefe vowels, thus employed, appear to perform
the office of an article ; and it is a cuftom rather
general in all the languages fpoken by the na-
tives of the iflands of the Great Ocean, to
place before words, and particularly proper names,
fome one of the three vowels^ ^, Ey O : thus
in the name 0-Taheitee, one of the Society
Iflands, O is the article, and Taheitee the name
of the ifland, &c.
It may be conceived from the Vocabulary,
although fo extremely concife, of the language of
the Ifland of Wahitaho, that the Mendoc^ans
I employ
marchand's voyage. 257
employ no difficult articulation, and that their lan-
guage, notwithftanding the frequent afpirations,
and the vehemence with which they are accuf-
tomed to exprefs themfelves, poflelTes fweetnefs
and a fort of harmony.
See Vol. 1. pages 206 to 211.
VOL, n.
VOCABU-
258 &îarchand'^ voyage»
Vocabulary
OF
ÏCHINKIÏ AN AY,
ON THE NORTH-WEST COAST OF AUmiCA, INTME
LATFTUDE OF 57 DEGREES NORTH, . '
A LTHOUGH thc Vocabulary, compiled by Sur-
geon RoBLET, differs very little from that
drawn up by Captain Chanal, it is not altogether
ufelefs to make them both known : every obferver
has his manner of writing words, and that depends
on the manner in which he heard them.
Captain Chanal, in order to indicate the quan-
tify of fome fyllables, which are long, has placed
above t-iofe fyllables thc indicative fign " of the
Latin profody : " the others,"^ fays he, are, for
** the moft part, lliorts and fome are doubtful.
" The G and the K,. preceded or followed by m
" L, are pronounced with a trill, which cannot
" be expreffcd by any fign of French writing, ,
*^ and which it is impoffible even to imitate, if
the organ of fpeech have not been formed to it
from infancy. The fyllables cba, chi, have been
reprefented by uba, tchi, becaufe they are to be
4 " pro-
MARCHAND* s VOYAGÉ.
^59
pt-onouncèd as the Italians pronounce ce, ci, that
is to fay, tche, tchi,'* Captain Ghanal alfo in-
forms us that the wordâ which are marl^ed with a *
were communicated to him by Siirgcon Roblet.
The latter obfer^er, on his partj informs us,
fchat the words whofe quantity he has hot marked
by the figns ' or " of the Latin profôdyj eithei-
wre not collected by himfelf> or were pronounced
before hirrl, by different inhabitants of the country,
fo that he had it not in his power to reprefent the
pronunciation of them with the fame certainty ai
he has ddne in regard to the words whofe quantity
ht has marked; In general/' faj^she, " the na.,
tives of Tchinkitanay have a very guttural
" pronunciation, making on the ^ a little tril!^
which cannot be expreffed in our language. Î
*^ have endeavoured to reprefent their pronuncla-
*^ tion of the which is the iche of the Italians,
" but the T of which is conveyed to the ear in an
*^ almoft imperceptible manner. It will be con-
ceived, from the fhriall number of Words that I
have been able to eolleél, and from the varied
<^ acceptations which the inhabitants give to them,
that the language of Tchinkitanay is very
copious.*'
See Vol. I. towards the end of Chapter ÎV.
N. B. Sound all the letters in both vocabulams i
pronounce in final, or in at the beginning or in t'h^
middle of a word, as if çhey were written inn, or
ine terminated by an e mute.
s % £NaLISH
25ô
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
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M A RC H A N D S V O Y A G
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MARCHAND s VOYAGE.
73
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i
ADDITIONS
ADDITIONS
TO THE
NARRATIVE OF THE VOYAGE,
- N,B. The imprefiion of the preceding part of j
the work was completed before the end of the j
year VL (1798) ; but that of the remainder having j;
occupied a rather confiderable portion of time, I !'
avail myfelf of it in order to infert here fbme ji
Additions that have been occalioned by the recent p
publication of two voyages of which I had not fj
been able to obtain a knowledge when I was \
engaged in writing the Narrative of the i h
Voyage of Captain Marchand. j|
■ ■ ji
. - I. j
FIRST ADDITION. jj
■ ij
For the INTRODUCT ION. '
TN the INTRODUCTION:, I havc contcntcd myfclf
with giving a fummary account of the expe-
ditions to the north-west coaft of America,
which are pofterior to that of La Fé rouse ; and
I have announced that the Britifh government had
difpatchcd vefîels to verify and complete the dif-
coveries which had been made in thefe latter times
between
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.'^ 269
between the 48th and the 60th parallels. The'
voyage of Captain Vancouver*, publifhed in
London towards the end of laft year, 1798, and
which did not reach us in France till the be-
ginning of the year VII, (1799) has perfedly ac-
complifhed that objed : and it may be faid that
this part of the coaft of the New World is at
prefent better known, in refped to, geography,
than have been, and than ever will be perhaps,
parts of the Old Continent much more within our
reach, and which the Europeans have frequented
fince they have applied themfelves to navigation.
The iNTRODUcrioN to the Voyage of Captain
Marchand may be coniidered as the introdudion
to the voyage of Vancouver : the latter muft fix
€very uncertainty ; and in perufing the epitome of
the difcoverieis that have been made from the year
,1537 to 1790, the reader will follow v/ith curiofity
and intereft, on the valuable charts which accom-
pany Vancouver's narrative, the tracks that the
ancient voyagers have fcarcely pointed out to us;
he will recognize the lands of which they had only
had a glimpfe; he will know what they would
have wilhed us ever to be ignorant of ; and, in
admiring the immenfe progrefs made in the fcience
of navigation, he will not refufe a tribute of praife
to the learned men who have improved that fcience/
* A Voyage of Difcovery to the North Pacljic Ocean, and
round the IVorld, ^r/ by Captain George Vancouver, London;
1798, 3 vols. 4to. with an ^/'/«j,
and
276 Additions to the -naiuiativi!o
and to the indefatigable navigators who have found
means to derive from its improvement, fo great
an advantage in order to fucceed in completing the
difcovery and defcription of the weft eoaft of
North America^
SECOND ADDITION.
For the IJlands called LJs Marquesas de MendÔça.
TRAVELS in the United States of Ame-
rica*, publiihed in Paris, in the month of Ven-
tofe of the prefent year VII, (March 1799) give^
us an extrad of a voyage performed in 1792, in
the Great Ocean, by Gaptain Roberts^j an Ame-
rican, commanding the fliip Jefferso^j, of five
hundred tons burden, which failed from Boston,
on the 29th November 1791.
The obje6b of Captain Roberts's e:kpediti6n
\vas to trade for furs on the north-west coaft 6f
America^ and, as well as Captain Marchand, he
put into the Bay of La Madre de Dios in the^
Ifland of V/ahitaho (or Santa Christina)
which he calls Who an wow. His intention in
putting into this port was not only to procure
water and refrefhments, but alfo to conftruâ â
Vcfîcl of ninety tons, the frame of which he had
* Voyage dans les Etats Unis d^Amérigue^ fatt 1795, 961
97, par La Rochefaucauld-Lm^icourt, Paris, Du Pont, An. Ylh
8 Vol. 8yo. Vol. III. pages 19 to 2 z.
on
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE. £71
x>n board ready to be fet up, and which fcrved
him, in the fequel, to fécond the Jefferson in the
fur- trade.
The extrad which concerns the Iflands called
'Las Marquesas de Mendoça, occupies only three
pages, although Captain Roberts (laid four months
at La Madre de Dios, and might have given us
fome very interefting details refpe6ling the Ifland
of WAHiTAHoin particular, and fome notions lefs
uncertain than thofe which we have refpedling the
other iflands of the group i but he fpeaks only of
the inhabitants of the ifland where he had eflra-
bliflied himfelf, and even of thern he fays very
little : Captain Chanal to whom I have commu-
nicated this extradl, finds, and juilly, a great deal
of incorrednefs in the little that has been faid ; and
I own that I have found in it nothing that ought to
be added to the defcription, fuc h as I have been
able to give, of the ifland and of the inhabitants,
■from the materials which have been furniflied us
by the voyagers who had vifited it before Captain
Roberts.
According to the American Captain, the inhabi-
tants of the Mendoça Iflands, " have no .other
arms than flakes of extremely hard wood 'vexy
Jharp^foinUd^ and long flings, with which they
" throw large ftones very far, and with much
^e^taeimfs."'
I kîi6w not whether by flakes very Jhaff*poinhd
be means lances from nine to .eleven feet long,
and
272 ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
and pikes or javelins of which they make life in
War ; but, independently of a fort of fabre, made
of an extremely hard wood, in the form of the
^blade of an oar, he has omitted to make mention
of the weapon the moil formidable in the hand of
a native of the Mendoça Iflands, of the cafe uarina
club, one of the ends of which confifts of a large
knob ; and which they take a delight in ornament-
ing with carving. The ufe of the fling had been
î-emarked by the French ^ they agree with Captain
Roberts as to the great diftance to which thefe
iflanders can throw a ftone, but they do not in like
manner admit of their addrefs in hitting the mark.
(See Vol I. page 178.)
Captain Roberts, fpeaking of the attempt
which the inhabitants of the neighbouring ifland
(no doubt 0-Hivah6a, or La Dominica) made
to carry off the anchor belonging to the fmall
veflcl which he had conftrudled, fays that they
prefented themfelves " with a flotilla of twenty
canoes of ninety f est in length.'* ' ' ■
The French, on their arrival in the Bay of La
Madre DE Dios, were vifited by fifty canoes
which had corhe from O-HivAkoA : the length
of' the largeft of thofe canoes did not exceed
twenty-five or thirty feet at moft (to Vol. L page
176.) ' _ ■ - : _
The American Captain adds, that the' inhabi-
tants of O-HiVAHOA are 'in a' continual fiate of
wat with thofc of WahitAho but 'the Fmnch
found
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE. 273
found them to live on terms of good underftand-
ing J and, on the firft vifit which they paid to the
Bay of La Madre de Dios, the natives of the
two iflands, affembled and mingled together, ftem-
ed to form but one tribe. I would not, how-
ever, vouch that this harmony is never difturbed 5
for, after the firft day, the French voyagers did
not fee them keep up on ftiore a communication
with each others but the canoes of the two iflands
paddled pell-mell round the Ihip, and no quarrels
were ever feen to arife between the men of the
two nations. . The wounds which were perceived
in feveral of the inhabitants of Wahitaho atteft,
indeed, that they have wars to maintain, and it
is probable that it is principally againft thofe of
O-H1VAHÔA, their ncareft neighbours : the latter,
in general, appear more warlike, lefs familiar in
the intercourfe of life than the former j and, as
their ifland appears far from fertile, it may happen
that fterility and the fcarcity which is the confc-
quence of it, induce them fometimes to make in-
curfions among their neighbours, whom a land ever
fruitful maintains in perpetual plenty ; but it can-
not thence be concluded that the jtate of war is
the habitual ft ate of the two tribes.
" Marriages,'' fays Captain Roberts, " laft only
" as long as it pleafes the married couple, efpecially
" the men, who preferve a great fuperiority over
" the wom^en : they never eat with them. The fame
" habitations frequently contain the fathers and
VOL. II. T *'the
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
" the children^ even when the latter are mar-
" ried/'
The American Captain muft have had more op-
portunities than the French Captain of afcertaining
whether the inhabitants of Wahitaho are acquaint-
ed with any rule in marriage j but, as I have faid,
to judge of them from their condudV, it might be
imagined that every man is the hufband of all
the women, and every woman, the wife of all the
men. {See Vol. I. pages 164 and 165.) As to the
fuperiority of the men over the women, it does not
appear that they have any other than that which
Nature has given to the ftronger ; but the wo-
men are admitted to eat habitually with the men :
Captain Chanal who has frequently been prefent
at their meals, has feen the men, women and chil-
dren eat in common and feed on the fame dilhes.
{See\o\ 1. pages 195 and 196.)
According to Captain Roberts, ^* there is in
this ifland a Kmgy who is hereditary^ and villagc-
*^ chiefs, who are Ukewife hereditary ; there is alfo
*^ a certain inequality in the families, who all pay
to the king and to the chitfs great 7narks of de-
" ference : property is acknowledged, and refpe61:-
ed : the number of domeftics and Jlaves is pro-
portionate to this property. The ftealing of
produ6lions, as well as of every other thing, is
feverely punifhed, and " the punifliment is or-
" dered by the chiefs according to a fentence which
" they faJsC'
It
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE. S75
It has been feen (VoLI. pages 197 to 201,) that
neither the Englifh, Cook and MefTrs, Forster,
nor the French, Marchand, Chanal, and Rob-
let, were abie to diftinguifh what is the form of
government of thefe iflanders ; they all agree
merely on one point, that is, that, if thofe who
have fometimes the appearance of being chiefs,
have indeed fome authority, it is not manifefted
by any adt -, and that the pretended fubjedls or
vaflals app^ear to pay no refpedt to majefty or lord-
ihip, this is very different to thofe great marks of
refpc6l which, according to Captain Roberts, all
the families pay to the king and to the chiefs : it
may be laid that, if, in the Ifland of Wahitaho,
there exift dignities, thofe who are invefted with
them take a pleafure in keeping incGg, Thofe
voyagers who preceded the American Captain did
not perceive that inequality of conditions, which
diftinguiilies mafters, fervants, and flaves ; we have
fome difEculty in believing that, if this inequality
were eftablifhed, it would have efcaped the obfer-
vation of the Englifh and French : wherever there
is a mafter, he is eager to (hew that he has fervants
and flaves to wait on him. As to that tribunal of
chiefs for trying thefts, and inflidling the punifli-
ment of the offence, the criminal code of Wahi-
taho muft, fince the departure of the Solide,
have been greatly improved 5 for it has been feen
that the chief who caufed Captain Marchand's
mufl^et to be reftqred affembled not his council
T 2 to
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
to try the thief -, he confuked only his club. ( See
Vol. I. pages 6 1, 200, and 201.)
Captain Roberts does not expatiate on the
natural produ6tions of the country -, he fays merely
that, Potatoes and fugar- canes are there culti-
" vated ; that poultry, which is far from being in
" plenty, and hogs of the Chinefe breeds which are
to be found in fome quantities, are eaten roafted\
" and that Mi is eaten razv.''
I prefume that tht potatoey mentioned in this ex-
tradl, is the fpecies of fweet fotatoe which is fpoken
of in Marchandas voyage {^SeeYoï.l. page 123;)
it is not there faid whether this root be cultivated
at Wahitaho, or whether it be a fpontaneous
produdlion of the earth. With regard to the
fugar- cane Captain C h anal aflures us {See Vol. I.
page 126,) that the natives are unacquainted with
its value : it was not therefore cukivated there
at the period of the voyage of the French.
This fame Captain, whom I have confulted ref-
pe6ling the fpecies of hog Vv^hich is procured at the
Marq^jesas de Mendoça, does not think that it
is of the Chinefe breed. The China hog has- a body
thick and round ; and its legs, which are fhort
and flender, are not in proportion to the body : the
hog of Wahitaho is, in general, of a fmall fize,
but it is proportioned like that of our climates.
The flefli of the Chinefe hog is fo fat, that it is
thence infipid, and foon cloys j whereas the flefh
of that of Wahitaho, although fat, is of an ex-
quifite
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE. 2//
quifite tafte : it is eaten with as much pîeafure as
that of the flieep, of which it has nearly the flavour :
it is very fuperior to that of our fucking pigs, of
which the fl<:in only is eftcemed. It is probable
that the excellent quality of the hogs of this ifland
is due to the quality of the fruits with which they
are fed, the fame as thofe that conilitute the prin-
cipal food of the men who according to Cook's
account, admit the hogs to their table {See Vol.
I. page 170)5 which, no doubt, is neither frequent
nor general, and it may be imagined that hogs arc
admitted to their table, only as dogs are admitted
to ours.
? Captain Roberts, as well as the French, ob->
ferved that the natives of the ifland eat fifli raw :
it has been feen {See Vol. I. page 172) that fomo^-
times too they eat pork without having drefied it.
Vvc fhould be little informed of the charader
and manners of the inhabitants of Wahitaho, if
we were no better acquainted with them than
from the account of the American Captain : we find
only in the èxtrad of his voyage that during
" the four months which hé flaid at the ifland, he
lived, in general, on very, good terms with the
" natives, a great number of whom aflifted him in
" his labours 5 but that one day they took a fancy
to feize upon his little veflel which was only half
put together, and that a confiderable affemblage
" of thefe iflanders, headed by their King, ma-
nifefted fo evidently their proje(51: of making an
T 3 " attack.
2/8
ADDITIONS TO TîîE NARRATIVE.
attack, that Captain Roberts fays, he found
himfetf obliged to ufe force in order to repel
" them 5 that with thirty -fix men who compofed
his crew, he fired on the natives, killed feveral,
wounded a great many others, and routed them
all i that the next day, they came to fue for
peace, and to bring him fome of their wounded
to be dreffed/'
It is by comparing all the known fads and the
opinions of voyagers, that, in the narrative of
' Captain Marc hand's voyage, I have ilcetched
the chara<51:er of this nation, who, in many ref-
pe6ls, might have to complain of the Europeans
much more than the latter have to corhplain of
•them (See Vol. I. page 189.) What I have had it in
my power to fay of them will partly make up for
the filence of the American Captain ; but we muft
regret infinitely that, having (laid four months on
Ihore, having lived in habitual fociety with the
natives of the ifland, he has not been more oc-
cupied in ftudying and making known to us a.
race of men who appear to be Hill in that period
of civilization in which man is no longer favagCj,
and in which he is not yet entirely civilized r
what a rich harveft might have been made by a
philofophic voyager !
Captain Roberts fays that the fermented
liquor that the natives of Wahitaho make
with a yellow root which they call bary (and
" which Captain Chanal thinks to be that of
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE. 279
" g'^^'W^i (^^^ ^' P^to^ ^74) antifcorbutic,
' " and that they employ it as a remedy againft the
venereal difeafe, which is very common in thefe
iflands fince the firft vifits of the Europeans, and
" with which all the Jefferson's people were
infefled*."
It has been feen in the narrative of Marchandas
voyage (Vol. I. page 169,) that Surgeon Roblet
does not fay that the ifland was infeded at the
period of that voyage 5 at leaft the fymptoms of
the difeafe did not fhew themfelves among the in-
habitants : however, fome made their appearance
in a few individuals belonging to the Solide after
the fhip had quitted the ifland; but Surgeon Rob-
let thought he might attribute this as much t6
what they had brought as to what they might have
received : a finglc year is then fufficient for this
diforder to have made a frightful progrefs. What
reproaches have the Europeans to make to them-
felves ! What portion of the inhabited earth will
be exempt from the fcourge which they carry with
them ? But, on this point, we muft not hope that
they will ever amend, and the leflfon of the paft is
loft for the time to come.*'
The American Captain appears not to have been
fo ft ruck by the beautiful proportions of the in-
* From what is said of it, this beverage is prepared like the
çi'va of the Tahciteans, and in a manner equally difgufting to
puropeans.
T 4 habitant3
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
habitants of the Mendoça Iflands as the Spaniards,
the Enghfli, and the French have been : he fays
only, towards the end of the extrad of his voyage,
that the race of the men and women is hand-
fome."
THIRD ADDITION;
For the Group of IJlands to the North-weft of the
Marquesas de Mendoça.
Captain Roberts, on quitting the Ifland of
Wahitaho, made fail for the Sandwich Iflands.
He affirms," it is faid in the extrad of his
voyage*, " that he difcovered, on his route, a
group of iflands i not yet fpoken of by any navi-
gator, lying in 8° 40' fouth latitude, and 140^
weft longitude from Greenwich (142"^ 20' weft
from Paris) : he reconnoitred them without land-
ing, called the clufter Washington's Group, and
gave fome of the iflands the names of Adams,
Jefferson, Hamilton, &c. Thefe iflands had
been feen the preceding year (1791) by Captain
Ingraham of the fhip Hope of Boston ; but he
had done no more than perceive them and point
out their fituation. Captain Roberts fays he
* See Voyage dans les Etats JJnis par la Rochefoucauld
l^tancourt. Vol. III. page 23.
landed
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
landed in this archipelago, at Newheve, v/hich
he named Adams's liland, latitude 8° 56'^ an old
man. of feventy-five years of age whom he had
found at Resolution Bay (La Madre de Dios)
in the Ifland of Wohanhow (Wahîtahô), and
who had been there for a long time. This old
man was born in Washington's Group, at On-
HAWA which Captain Roberts called the Ifland of
Massachusetts. He examined the coaft of fome
of them*."
It has been feen in the narrative of Marchandas
Voyage (page 102 of this Vol.) that, while the So-
lide lay in Macao Road, Captain Ch anal was fent
on board an American fliip, the captain of which
was ill, and that he learnt from him that, in the
beginning of the month of May 1791, in ftanding
from the Mendoca Iflands to the north-west
coaft of America, he had difcovered to the north-
weft of that group, another group as extenfive as
* It is not mentioned at what period Captain Roberts examined
thefe iflands. In the extraft from his voyage, there are no other
dates than that of his departure from Boften, on the 2gth of
November 1791, and that of putting into an ifland in the
Grejt OcEANy on the 5th of July 1792, namely the Spanifli
Ifland St, {Ambrofey in latitude 26° 13'fouth, where he ftaid
two months and a half, and procured thirteen thoufand feal-
Ikins and a great quantity of oil. He mufl: have arrived at
La Madre de Dios about the beginning of September : and, as
he there made a fl:ay of four months, it may be fuppofed that it
was about the latter end of December 1792, or the beginning
of January 1793, that he perceived the north-nveji group of the
Marque/as de Mendoça,
6 the
2^2 ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
the former ; that he had given names to the iflands
of which it -is compofed, but had not flopped
there. It could not be doubted, from the lati-
tude and the bearing which he indicated, that thefe
were the fame iflands which Captain Marchand
had difcovered a month later j but we were ig-
norant of the name of this Captain who had feen
them firfl: without examining them : the extradl
of Captain Roberts's Voyage informs us that
the former Captain is named In g rah am, and that
he commanded the fhip Hope of Boston.
It is this very group which Captain Roberts re-
connoitred towards the end of 1792 or the begin-
ning of i793> and which he named Washington's
lilands, at the fame time not informing us whether
this be the name which had been impofcd on
them by Captain Ingraham, when he made the
firft difcovery of them in the month of May 1791.
It is to be regretted that, in the extract of Captain
Roberts's Voyage, which I have here given ^at
length, no mention is made of the number of
iflands of which this group is comppfed.
But this extract makes known to us the names
which the natives of the group give to two of
their iflands: Newheve, and Onhawa. Àt the
firft glance we recognize the name of Newheve in
that of Neev-Heeva, which is written ohTupia's
chart, {Plate IF. ) next to the moft weftern of the
two fouthern iflands of the archipelago which
comprifes the Marquesas de Mendoça: and,
when
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
when we know how many different founds the pro-
per names of the Iflands of the Great Ocean
obtain in paffing through various European mouths,
and what changes the different orthographies caufe
them to undergo, we are not far from recognizing
O-Haneanea, the name given by Tupia to the
mofl: eaftern of the two fouthern iflands of the
fame archipelago, in the name On h aw a, which
Captain Roberts fays is that of one of the iflands
which he examined. It may therefore be faid that
we know the names which Tupia gave to five oi
the iflands of the archipelago that comprifes, to
the fouth-eaft, the group of the Marq^uesas de
Mendoça.
I remark that thefe two laft-mentioned names
are applied, on Tupia's chart, to tv/o of the iflands
of the south-east Group, that of the Mendoça
Iflesj while we fee by the account of Captain
Roberts, that they belong to iflands of the north- '
west Group ; and this may confirm what I had
fufpedled, (See Vol. I. page 259, Note*) that is,
that in confl:ru6ting the chart under the direélion
of Tupia (and the mifl:ake may proceed from him-
felf) the names which belong to the south-east
Group have been applied to the north-west
Group, and thofe of the north-west Group, to
the south-east Group : and, in faét, we have
feen that the names of O-Niteio, 0-Hiva-H6a
^nd Wahitaho, which are three names of the
south-east Group or of the Mendoça Iflands,
have
?84 ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
have been applied on the chart to three of the
iflands of the north-west Group, that which
has been fucceffively reconnoitred by Captains In-
graham, Marchand, and Roberts.
In Plate Illy No. L of Marchandas Voyage,
I have given the Plan of the iflands which com-
pofe the north-west Group, named by the French
Captain, Iles de la Révolution, as it was drawn
by Captain Chanal, who fubjeded it to the ob-
fervations for the latitude and longitude and to the
bearings taken on board the Solide. We were
then ignorant in France that in 1792, fubfequently
to the examination made by Captain Roberts,
the north -west Group had been vifited by an
Englifli Captain, and that it was from the plan
drawn by this latter navigator that Arrowsmith
had placed the group on his planifphere ( See pages
104 to 107 of this Vol.) It was not, as I have already
faid, till the beginning of the prefent year ( 1799)
that we faw Vancouver's Voyage, publifhcd in
London towards the end of the year VI. (1798),
and in which the Englifh Captain gives an ex-
trad from the voyage of the D^dalus, under
the command of Lieutenant Hergest, in the
courfe of which that navigator, after having put
into the Bay of La Madre de Dios, in the
Ifland of Wahitaho, reconnoitred and vifited the
north-west Group. The imprefllon of the greater
part of my work was completed for fome months
paft, and the Plates were worked off, when I re-r
ceived
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
ceived Vancouver's Voyage ; but I have added to
Plate III. of Marchandas Voyage, No. II. a chart
which is a copy of that of the north-west Group,
conftru6led by Lieutenant Hergest, and Mr.
GoocH the aftronomer who accompanied him, and
1 shall now give a tranfcript of the Extradt, which
Vancouver has inferted in his Journal, of the
part of that of Hergest, which concerns the
furvey of this Group. At the end of this tranfcript,
I fliall prefent fome obfervations to which the
chart and the- narrative of Marchand may give
rife, compared with the account and the chart
of Hergest.
Extract from the Journal of Lieutenant
Hergest^.
" The D^dalus had anchored in the Bay of
La Madre de Dios, on the 22nd of March
1792t."
" In the evening (of the 29th of the fàme month)
about five o'clock, fhe weiglied and fleered to the
northward. At day-light the next morning, the
30th f fhe came within fight of fome iflands, which
appeared
* VancQwver^s Voyage, Vol. II. page 85 to 9^;,
f This date of the 22nd of March, which is to be found
in page 85 of Vancowver's Journal (Vol 11.) is remarkable,
becaufe, in the fequel of the Extraft which he gives of the voy-
age of the Dadalusi there appear fome evident miftakes refpec-
ting dates. '
% The original (page 90 and 91) gives the dates of the 29th
Q^Qher and of the 30th of QMer^ which are very evidently
the
sB6 ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE-
appeared to Mr. Her g est to be new difcovcnes,
Thofe nrft feen were three in number, one bearing
by compafs* north by eaft, the other north by
weft, and the third fouth-weft by fouth. She
fetched the fouth-weft part of the eafternmoft,
where a good bay was found with a fandy beach.
Some rocky idets lie to the fouth-eaft or it 5 and,
from a gully in the north-weft part of the bay,
there was an appearance of procuring a fupply
of water. To the eaft of the fouth point, there
appeared another good bay ; and along the weftern
Ihore, ftiallow broken water. But, on rounding
that point, and hauling to the north along the
weft fide, the broken water was found to extend
not more than a quarter of a mile from the fhore.
On this fide there is neither cove nor inlet, only
a rocky Ihore, with two fmall rocky iflets off its
northweft point. This ifland is about fix leagues
in circuit, and is in latitude 8® 50' fouth f : longi-
the 29th and the 30th of March, fince it appears in the nar-
rative, that the Dadalus paffed only a feuu days at anchor in the
Bay of La Madre de Dîos, where, as has been feen, (he had an-
chored on the 22nd of March 1792.
* Hergeft'^ Journal makes no mention of the variation of the
magnetic needle, but from the obfervations made on board the
Solide, on the 21ft of June 1791, in fight of lie Marchand
(Hergefl's Tre'venen*s Ifland) it was 4° 32 'eaft, See the Journal
of the Route at the end of this Volume.
+ The fcale of the original chart which is to be found in
Vancouver* s Voyage^ is marked, by miftake, 80° and 90° inftead
of 8° and 9°.
tude
ADDitîONS TO THE NARRATIVE. «8/
tude Î220* 51' eaft from Greenwich (141* 29'
15'' weft from Paris). It is inhabited by a tribe
of feemingly friendly Indians, fome of whom vifited
the fhip in their canoes. In the vallies were a
great number of cocoa-nut and plantain trees, and
the whole ifland prefented an infinitely more ver«
dant and fertile appearance than thofe they had
juft quitted (the Marquesas de Mendoça).
" From hence Mr. Hergest flood over to the
fouthernmoft ifland, which appears at a diftance
like a remarkably high rock, with three peaked
rocks clofe to it ; thefe are about the middle of
the ifland. The night was fpent in keeping his
ftation near it, and, in the morning, his courfe
was diredted towards its fouth-weft point. As the
fhore was approached, the land was feen to be well
cultivated and numeroufly inhabited. More than
one hundred Indians were foon aflTembled round
the fliip in their canoes, dilpofing of cocoa-nuts,
plantains. Sec, for beads and other trifles, and
behaving in a very friendly manner. At the fouth-
weft end of this ifland is a very good bay, with
a fandy beach in its eaftern part*. Along the
fouthern fide are other bays; one in particular
appeared to retire deeply in towards the fouth-eaft
end of the ifland, having a fmall iflet lying off"
it, not unlike in fliape to the fteeple of a cathe-
* See what is faid of this bay in the Voyage of Marchand, who
caufcd it to be vifued. Vol. I, pages 222 amd 223.
dral.
£^8 ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
dral*, and other rocks and iflets. From the weft
point of this ifland, forming alfo the weft point
of the fineft and deepeft bay it affords, its ftiorcs
trend found to the north-caft , and, like the weft
fide of the ifland he was at the preceding day
(which received the name of Riou's Island) are
rocky, and bear rather a fteril appearance. This
ifland obtained the name of Tiievenen's Island f,
it is fituated in latitude ^ 14 fouth, longitude 220^
21' eaft from Greenv/ich (141° 59' 15'' weft from
Paris.)
" In the forenoon of the ift of April J, the
fouth fide of the third ifland was pafTed, which
was named Sir Henry Martin's Island §; im-
mediately to the weft of its fouth-eaft point, called
Point Martin, is a deep, well-ftieltered bay,
bounded by Tandy beaches : this obtained the name
of Comptroller's Bay 5 it was not examined,
but, on paffing, had the appearance of a fafe and
commodious port. At its head was a break in the
fliores, fuppofed by fome to be the mouth of a
rivulet, but as it appeared too large for fo fmall
* This is the iflot named le Pic (the Peak) by Captain Mar^
thand (See Vol. I. page 220.)
+ This is the lie Marchand reconnoitred by the Solide,
\ This date is the fame in the original page 93 : which con-
firms what I have faid (pages 285 and 286, note J, of this volume)
of the error of the two preceding dates, 29th and 30th Odober,
inftead of the 20th and 30th of March.
^ This is the lU Baux of Captain Marchanda
an
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE. 289
an ifland to afford, Mr. Hergest was rather in-
clined to believe it only a deep cove.
" The D^D ALUS was here vifited by many of
the natives, paddling and failing in their canoes,
who behaved in a very civil and friendly manner.
About two leagues to the wedward of Point Mar-
tin is a very fine harbour, extending deep into the
ifland, and bounded by a moft delightful and fertile
country. Mr. Hergest, accompanied by Mr.
GoocH, went with the cutter to take a flcetch and
to examine the port, which he called Port Anna
Maria. It was found to be very eafy of accefs
and egrefs, without any fhoals or rocks that are
not fufficiently confpicuous to be avoided 3 the
depth at its entrance twenty-four fathoms, gradu-
ally decreafing to fevcn fathoms, within a quarter
of a mile of its fhoreà ; the bottom a fine fand,
and the furrounding land affording moft perfe(fi:
fecurity againft the winds and fea in all diredlions.
An excellent run of fine water flows into the
harbour, which poifefTes every advantage that could
be de fired.
" The country feemed to be highly cultivated,
and was fully inhabited by a civil and friendly race
of people, readily inclined to fupply whatever re-
frefliments their country afforded. The D^dalus's
people were induced to entertain this opinion from
the hofpitable reception they experienced on land-
ing, from the chiefs and upwards of fifteen hun-
dred, of the natives who were afTembled on the
VOL, n. u • fhores
ADDITIONS TO TH£ NARRATIVE.
{hores of the harbour. On their return to the
ihip they found the fanne harmony fubfifting there
with the Indians, who had carried off and fold a
fupply of vegetables and fome pigs*,
" Mr. Hergest renewed his route along the
fouth fide of the ifland to its fouth-weft point, when
he hauled his wind along the weflern fide. This
is a rocky iron-bound {hore without cove or bay.
It had a verdant appearance, but no great fign of
fertility I nor were any habitations or natives per-
ceived.
*^ About fun- fet, he difcovered what appeared
like a large rock to the north-weftvv'ard, about
fix or feven leagues diftant ; and, during the night,
they remained near Sir Henry Martin's Ifland ;
but, in the morning, not being able to fetch its
north-eafb point, he quitted it; its north-weft fide
appeared to contain fome fmall bays j and towards
its north-eaft- extremity, the land turned, appa-
rently, fhort round, forming a bay fomething fimi-
lar to, but not fo deep as Comptroller's Bay.
Another rock juft above water now fhewed its
head to the eaftward, and to the northward of
that before- mentioned. Thefe rocks f Mr. Her-
* Captain Marchand liad met with a reception nolefs friendly
at the ifland beating his name, HergejVs, 'ïre^venen^ Ifland {See
Vol. I. pages 20'), 231, and 232.)
+ On the chart thefe arc called Hergejî's Rocks : they are the
rocks named Les Deux Frères in the Journal and on the Chart
«f Captain Marchand*
ÇEST
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE. 2.gt
GEST reprefents to be dangerous j they lie about
weft by north, about fix leagues from the weftern
fide of Sir Henry Martin's IQand ^, which is
about fixteen leagues in circuit. Its centre is
fituated in fouth latitude 8° 51', longitude 220°
19 eaft from Greenwich ^142® 1' 15'' weft from
Paris.)
After leaving this ifland, two others were
difcovered to the northward of them. On the
morning of the 3d of April f, Mr. Hergest bore
up to the fouthward along the eaft fide of the
fouth- weftern moft. This is the largeft of the two,
its ftiores are rocky, without any coves or landing-
places j and, though its surface was green it pro-
duced no trees, yet a few flirubs and buOies were
* This fituation of the rocks, in regard to Sir Henry Mar.
i}n*s Ifland, fuch as the Journal indicates, is far from being con-
formable to that in which they are laid down on the chart that
accompanies the extraft from the Journal : on the chart the
middle of the two Rocks is placed at the diftance of eleven
leagues between weft by north and weft-north-weft, with refpeâ:
to the north.weft point of Sir Henry Martin'^ Ifland, the part
of the Ifland the neareft to the Rocks ; the diftance is ten leagues
one-third, if meafured between this fame point and the weft coaft
^ of the Eaji Rocky that is to fay, at the ftiorteft diftance ; and it
is tivel've leagues and a halfy if meafured between the point of
the ifland and the weft point of the Weft Rock. If the latitude
and longitude of thefe rocks were inferted in the Journal, we
ftiould determine on the pofition which Lieutenant Hergeft meant
to give them with regard to the ifland ; but the want of agree-
ment between the Journal and the Chart leaves a great uncer-
tainty refpefting this pofition.
+ This date is. the fame in the original.
u 2 thinly
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE»
thinly fcattered over the face of the rocks ; nor
did it feem to be otherwife inhabited than by the
tropical oceanic birds. Thefe were in great num^
bers about it, and it feemed to be a place of their
general refort. The north- weft fide^ however,
had a more favourable afped, and, although its
fliores were alfo rocky, a number of trees were
produced, as well on the fides of the hills, as in
the vallies. This fide afforded fome coves where,
there is good landing, particularly in one near
the middle : this, from the appearance of its nor-
thern fide, was called Battery Cove. A little
more than a mile to the north of this cove is a
bay, which Mr. Hergest and Mr. Gooch exami-
ned. Good anchorage and regular foundings were
found from eighteen to five fathoms water ; the
bottom a fine clear fand. An excellent run of
frefh water difcharged iifelf into the bay near a
grove of cocoa-nut trees ; here they landed, and
found a place of interment, and a hut near half a
mile from it by the fide of a hill i but there were
no people, nor the appearance of any having been
recently there ; although it were manifeft that they
did, on fome occafions refort to the ifland. This
induced Mr. Hergest to forbear cutting down any
of the, cocoa-nut trees as he at firft intended to
do; and he procured by other means as many of
the fruit as ferved the whole crew, with five to
each perfon.
The landing was but indifi^erent en account
of the furf i but water is eafily obtained.
After
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
" After afcertaining the laft-mentioned ifland
to be eight miles long and two miles broad, and
to be fituated in fouth latitude 7° 53', longitude
• 219^ 47' eaft from Greenwich (142^ 33' 1 5'' weft
from Paris) they took leave of thefe iflands the
next morning -, and to the norch-eaft of the laft, at
the diftance of about a league they difcovered
another, nearly round and much fmaller*, with
two iflets lying off its fouth -v,/eft point i to this
was given the name of Roberts's Ifland,
" Mr. Hergest ftates that, during the time he
was among thefe iflands and at the Marqjjesas,
they were fubjed to frequent heavy fqualls and
much rain.
" He compares the inhabitants of this group to
thofe of the Marquesas, in colour and fize 3 but
in manners, behaviour, drefs, and ornaments, ex-
cepting that of their being lefs pundlured, they
more refemble the people of Taheitee and the
Society Iflands.
On the firft information of the D^dalus
having vifited thefe iHands, (fays Vancouver
towards the end of the extrad which I have juft
given from Lieutenant Hergest's Journal) I con-
cluded that they had not been feen before, and to
commemorate the difcovery of a very worthy
I * Here it appears that there is a tranfpofition in point of time,
for Hergeji muft have feen this latter ifiand when he was ranging
along the eaft coaft of the former, and not when he had placed it
between him and the latter,
y 3 though
294 ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
though unfortunate friend * and fellow-traveller
in my more early periods of navigating thefe feas,
1 diftinguiflied the whole group by the name of
Hergest's Islands. But I have fince been in-
formed, that thefe iflands had been difcovered and
landed upon by fome of the American traders, and
that, in fine weather, the fouthernmoft is vifible
from Hood's Ifland, the moft northern of the Mar-
quesas. Hence they are confidered by fome as
properly appertaining to that group, although nei-
ther the Spanifli navigator, Mend ana, who dif-
covered the Marquesas, nor Captain Cook who
vifited them after him, had any knowledge of fuch
iflands exifting."
The examination made by Lieutenant Her g est,
of the group of iflands fituated to the north-weft
of the Marquesas de Mendoça, will ferve me
to re(5lify in fome points that which had been made
in the month of June 1791, by Captain Mar*
CHAND.
ifl. From the pofition which Arrowsmith's
Planifphere had given to Riou's Ifland in regard
toTREVENÈN's Ifland f, I might have fuppofed that
his Riou's Ifland was the Ile Plate of Captain
Marchand ; but it is feen, by Hergest's Chart,
that Riou's Ifland is fituated at the diftance or
* Mr. Hergeji and Mr. Gooch were afterwards maflfacrcd by
the natives of IVoahoo^ one of the Safidnjoich Iflands.
+ See pages 104 to 107 of this volume,
about
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
about feven leagues from coaft to coaft, and di-
reftly to the eaftvvard of the middle of the eaftern
coaft of Sir Henry Martin's Ifland (v^hich is
Ile Baux in the Solide's Chart), and about ten
leagues from centre to centre: Captain Marchand,
from the courfe which he held, could not there-
fore perceive this Riou's Illand, which appears
lefs elevated than the others ; he never was nearer
to it than twelve leagues -, and it was concealed
from him by his Ile Baux, when he pafled to the
Weftward of the latter.
On the Solide's chart mull be added the Riou's
Ifland of the D^dalus, the centre of which is to
be placed ten leagues to the eaftward of the centre
of Il£ Baux, where it will be fituated in 8^ 54
fouth latitude, and 141° 56 or 57' weft from
Paris.
2nd. Lieutenant FIergest fixes the latitude of
his Trevenen's Ifland, Ile Marchand of the
Solide, in 9^ 14', and its longitude in 220° 21
eaft from Greenwich, or 141"^ 59' 15'' weft from
Paris ; and this pofition aniwers on his chart to
the centre of the ifland ; but according to the ob-
fcrvations of Marchand and Chanal in the
Solide, made at a very little diftance from the
moft weftern point of the fame ifland, and reduced
to its centre, its latitude is 9° 21', and its longitude
142° 19' (6"^^ Vol. I. page 148) : the latitudes difl'er
then by feven minutes, and the longitudes by
twenty. It is not mentioned in the Extra6t from
u 4 Her-
2ij6
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
FIergest's Journal whether the latitude was by
obfervation nor by what means the longitude
was determined. I obferve that the longitude
fixed by Hergest makes the difference of meri-
dian between the north-west Group and that of
the Marquesas, fmaller by 20 minutes, or about
6} leagues than the difference which refults from
the obfervacions made on board the Solide: for I
fuppofe thatFÎERGESTj as was done by Marchand
and Chanal, admitted the longitude of the Bay
of La Madre de Dios in the Marquesas, fuch
as it was deduced from the obfervations made in
Captain Cook's fécond voyage -f, and that it is to
this lons^itude that he has reduced thofe of the
Iflands of the north-west Group. Lieutenant
Hergest places on his chart the eaftern coaft of
his Trevenen's Ifland (Ile Marchand) in 139''
34 weft from Greenwich, or 141^ 54' weft from
Paris: but the weft point of La Dominica or
(o-Hivahoa) of the Marqj-jesas is fituated in
* It is poffible that it was only by accouitt ; for it has been
feen in page 293, of this volume, that Hergeji complains of
having met with frequent heavy fqualls and much rainy' du-
ring the time he was among thefe iflands.
+ See Note XXX. But independently of the difference of
meridians eftimated from the dead reckoning, Marcha7id and
Chanal determined by direct obfervations taken on the 2 2d
and 24rh of June, the longitude of l'Ile Marchand, and that of
the Northern iflands (See the Journal of the Route) ; and the
refait of the dead reckoning differed not from that of the obfer-
vations.
141^
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE. 297
141® 31' 15^', (according to Cook's obfervations
which place the middle of the ifland in 141° 22');
Trevenen's Ifland therefore could not be eleven-
leagues diftant, to the north-weft, from the weft
point of La Dominica : and can it be fuppofed
that Captain Cook who, by his route, flood as
far as this point of La Dominica, and even a
little without the point, would not have perceived
a lofty ifland whofe diftance had not been eleven
leagues ? I am therefore of opinion that the lon-
g;itude deduced from the obfervations and the dead
reckoning of the Solide, which carries the north-
west GROUP 10 minutes more to the weftward
than the longitude afligned to it by Hergest's
journal and chart, ought to be preferred to the
latter v/hich brings the two groups too near to
each other.
If this proof did not appear fufficient for caufing
the longitude of Ile Marchand (Trevenen's
Ifland), as deduced from the obfervations made
on board the Solide, to be adopted in prefer-
ence to that given to this ifland by the chart con-
ftruéled on board the D^dalus, I fliould obferve
that Captain Marchand perceived the ifland which
bears his name from the anchorage of La Madre
de Dios (Vol. I, pages 214 and 215)3 and that,
for two fucceflive days, in the cîeareft weather, he
^et this ifland {or rather its loftieft peak) bearing
between weft-north-weft and north-weft by weft,
allowing for the variation. The latitude of the
Bay
298 ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
Bay of La Madre de Dios, according to the
obfcrvations made in Cook's Second Voyage, is
9^ 55' 30'^ and that of Ile Marchand, in its
middle, is, from the obfervations made on board
the Solide, 9^21': the difference of latitude is
therefore minutes, or 34^ miles. If, with this
difference of latitude, and this angle of north- we ft '
by weft (33° 45') the oblique triangle be folved,
it will be found that the difference of meridian
between the two points whofe latitudes we have,
muft be 5 if miles or 52' 15'^ (in the mean paral-
lel of 33') : that which refults from the longi-
tude of Marchand's Ifland, deduced from the
obfervations made on board the Solide, and com-
pared to the longitude of La Madre de Dios, is
only 50' 5^'; it is therefore fmaller by 1' \d' than
that given by the calculation of the triangle : it is
not then too great, although it exceeds, by 20
minutes, the difference of meridian which the chart
of the D^DALus has given between Trevenen's
Ifland (Ile Marchand) and the Bay of La Madre
DE Dios : and it may be feen that the difference
of longitude between the two points would be
much greater ftill, if, in preferving the angle of
bearing 33^ 45', obferved from La Madre de
Dios, we admitted the latitude of 9° 14' (in lieu of
9° 21') which Lieutenant Hergest has given to
Trevenen's Ifland (Ile Marchand) ^ for then
the diff^erence of latitude between that ifland and
La Madre de Dios, would be 41' 30'' (in lieu of
34
AUDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE. Qgg
!34 30''); and the difference of meridian woulcj
be 1° 3' (in lieu of 52' 1 5'') ; whereas the chart of
I the D^DALus (ftill taking for the longitude of
La Madre de Dios, that of Cook's fécond voy-
age) makes the difference of meridian only about
i half a degree.
' I am therefore of opinion that we cannot hefi-
tatc to prefer, for Ile Marchand (Trevenen's
Ifland), the longitude determined by the obferva-
tions of the Solide, to that affigned to it by the
chart of the D:^dalus, which is fmaller than
the former by 20 minutes: I fhould not even
be aflonifhed that, in the fequel, frelh obfervations
fhould prove that we mufl: rather increafe the dif-
ference of meridian, in regard to La Madre de
' Dios, which was deduced from the obfervations
taken on board the Solide in fight of her Ile
Marchand.
3. The Journal of the D^dalus gives for the
fituation of the centre of Sir Henry Martin's
Ifland (the Solide's Ile Baux) latitude 8® 5 î\ and
longitude 220° 19'eaft from Greenwich, or 141°
i' 15'^ weft from Paris. According to the obfer-
vations and bearings taken by Captains Marchand
and Chanal (Vol. I. page 249) the latitude of the
middle of the ifland is 8° 54', and the longitude
142° 25': the difference between the determination
of the D^dalus, and that of the Solide, is there-
fore 3 minutes in the latitgde, and 24 minutes in
the longitude. The difference of meridian be-
tw^een
300 ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
tween this ifland and the preceding would be only
2 minutes according to Hergest, and it is 6 mi-
nutes according to Marchand and Chanals the
latter deduced the difference of meridian of the
two iflands from bearings taken of both at the
fame time^ and crofs bearings j but I am ignorant
by what means the former determined this differ-
ence, fuch as it is deduced from the relative fitu-
ation given to the two iflands in his Journal and on
his Chart.
4. The wefl coafl of the moft weftern of Her-
gest's Rocks (Les Deux Frères of the Solide)
is fituated on the Chart of the Dvî:dalus, in latitude
8° 37' 30'^ and 140"^ 10' weft from Greenwich,
or 142^ 40' 15'^ weft from Paris*, and on the
Solide's chart, in latitude 8° 42^, and longitude
142° 55^ the difference of the latitudes is 4 mi-
nutes and a half, and that of the longitudes 15
minutes. From within fight of Ile Baux (Sir
Henry Martin's Ifland of the Englifh), the So-
lide ftood directly for the Rocks named by the
French Les Deux Frères s fhe pafTed, within a
quarter of a mile, to the weftward of the moft
weftern ; and, from this pofltion. Captain Mar-
chand took the bearing of the rock in regard to
the north- weft point of the ifland: Les Deux
* For the comparifon I employ the pofition which the Chart
afTigns to iht(t Rocks; for it has been feen before, (page 29^
note * ) that the pofition given to them by the Journal is very
different from that in which they are laid down on the chart.
Frères
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE. 3OI
Frères lie, with refpe6l to ea&?i other, eaft and
weft. As no mention is made in the Journal of
the D^ï:dalus of the method employed for fixing
the pofition of the rocks in regard to Sir Henry
Martin's Ifland ; and as their diftance from that
ifland fuch as it is given by the Journal is very
different from that affigned to them on the Chart
which accompanies it, I think that we ought to
adhere to the pofition refulting from the route and
the bearing-s of the Solide.
5. The refult of the obfervations for the lati-
tude and longitude made by Captains Marchand
I "and Chanal on the 24th of June (Vol. I. page 249)
combined with bearings taken of the land, places
the middle of Ile Masse, that is, the moft fouthern
elevated part of the little group of Roberts's
■ Iflands in the Englifh Chart, in latitude B° or 8°
I'j and longitude 142° 52^: this fame point is
fituated, on the Englifn Chart, in latitude y° 57',
and longitude 140® 13' 30'' weft from Greenwich,
or 142^ 33'' 45'' weft from Paris : the difference
between the two pofitions is therefore from 3 to 4
minutes in the latitudes, and 18'^ minutes in the
longitudes. It is feen that, on the French chart,
the Iles Masse and Chanal occupy together 16
minutes in latitude ; while the group of Roberts's
Iflands, v/hich reprefcnt the former on the Englifh
chart, there occupy only 10 minutes. They are
placed on the Solide's chart according to a bear«
ing (in which allowance is made for the variation
of
gOa ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
of the compafs) taken on the 24th of June at noon,
at the moment of the obfervation for the latitude,
and inferted in the manufcript journal of Captain
Chanal as follows : Ile Masse, from eaft 30**
fouth to eaft 8 or 10° fouth, diftant fix leagues :
Ile Chanal, from eaft to eaft 10° north, twelve
leagues. If it were wilhed to attribute to an error
in the Solide's bearings, the difference of 6 mi-
nutes that is to be found between the fpace which
the group of thefe iflands occupies in latitude on
the one chart, and that which it occupies on the
other, we muft fuppofe that a much greater error
has been committed with refped to the diftance of
fix leagues at which the Solide was eftimated from
Ile Masse, which was the neareft to her. I there-
fore prefume that the difference of the parallels be-
tween which the group is comprehended, muft be
larger than it is on the chart of the D.ï:dalus.
But I am, at the fame time, of opinion, that the
configuration and the difpofition of thefe iflands,
fuch as they are feen on the Englifh chart, is far
preferable to thofe which are delineated on the
French chart. Lieutenant Her g est vifited them
and examined them minutely ; whereas. Captain
Marchand faw them only in pafTing, and at a
fufHcient diftance to leave a great uncertainty ref-
pedling any other determination than of the differ-
ence of latitude of the two extreme north and
fouth points, and their relative pofition in regard
tQ
6
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE. 303
to the Ile Baux of the Solide, the Sir Henry
Martin's Ifland of the D^dalus.
In recapitulating the differences which we have
difcovered between the two charts, it is feen that
all the latitudes and longitudes of the Englifh
chart are fmaller than thofe of the French chart ;
namely :
in
For Isle Marchand, or
Lat.
in Long*
Trevenen's Ifland
7'
ao'
For Ile Baux, or Sir Henry
Martin's Ifland
3
24
For Les Deux Frères, or
Hergest's Rocks
4i
«5
For Isle Masse, the fouth part
of Roberts's Iflands
3
18
From the reafons which I have ftated, I am
of opinion that the Englifli chart, by giving to the*
NORTH-WEST Group a longitude lefs wefterly than
that which refults from the obfervations made on
board the Solide, brings this group too near to
that of the Marquesas de Mendoça, As for the
latitudes, fuppofing that all thofe inferted in Her-
gest's Journal were enervation, of which we are
ignorant; the diff^erences between thofe obferved
on board the Solide, with the exception of the
firft which is 7 minutes, are fo fmall that we may-
imagine they are owing to the difference of the
inftruments, to the manner of obferving, &c. And
we might take for the true latitudes, the mean
between
304 ADDITIOf^S' TO THE NARRATIVE,
between the refuks given by the two navigators,
the more efpecially as they are not reduced to a
determined point, fuch as a cape, a harbour, &c.
but to the centre of each ifland.
If I wiiTied to conftruâ: a chart of the group
fituated to the north- weft of the Marquesas de
Mendoça, I would make ufe of the pofitions with
which we are furnifhed by the Solide's journal;
but I would employ for the extent and the con-
figuration of the iflands, to which I would add
Riou's Ifland, thofe given them by the chart con-
ftrudted in the voyage of the D^dalus; for, with
the exception of Ile Marchand (the Trevenen's
Ifland of Hergest), the others were not fecn from
the Solide but at a diftance which admits of pre-
fencing maffes only -, whereas they were moflly
vifited, and furveyed more minutely by iheDjEOA-
Lus. We are indebted to Li'eutenant Hergest
for a knowledge of the excellent harbour, called
by him Port Anna Maria, on the fouth coaft
of Ile Baux, or Sir Henry Martin's Ifland,
and of a bay fltuated on the fame coaft near its
fouth-eaft point, which had the appearance of a
fafe and commodious port : it cannot but be con-
fidered as a fortunate circumftance to have difco-
vered two good harbours in a populous and fertile
ifland, in the midft of other iflands which are equafly
fo, and in a latitude where it was of importance
to be acquainted with places of flielter which can
furnifli
• 4
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE. 305
fiirnifh water and refrefhments to fliips croffing
the Great Ocean.
What we read, in the extrad from the journal
oftheD^DALus, refpedling the peaceable, friendly,
'[ and hofpitable dilpofition of the natives of thefe
iflands, agrees perfedly with what has been related
of them in the Narrrativc of Marchandas Voyage
(Vol. I. pages 225, 226, 231, and 232,)
It has been feen (pages 280, and 281 of
this Vol.) by the extrad from the voyage of the
American Captain, Roberts, that the natives of
the NORTH-WEST Group fometimes have a com-
munication with thofe of the south-east Group,
fince that Captain met at La Madre de Dios in
Wahitaho, one of the Marquesas, an old man
of feventy-five years of age, born atÛNHAWA, one
0f the iflands of the north-west Group, to whom
hé gave a paflage in his fhip, and whom he landed
at Newheve *, another ifland of the fame group.
It will not be fuppofed that an old man had em-
barked in a fhip, with flrangers, folely far the
pleafure of rambling over the world, of which
' he could have no idea 5 it is probable that he in-
timated in fome way to Captain Roberts, that he
was born in a diftant land whofe fituation in regard
j to Wahitaho he pointed ^out -, and that, on this
* To judge from the latitude of 8° 56', which Captain Roherts
I affigns to the Ifland of Nenjubeve^ (page 281, of this Vol.) this
muft be the He Baux of the SoUdey the Sir Henry Martin's Ifland
of the Daedalus*
vol/iu X indi-
3o6
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
indication, the American Captain propofed to him
to take him on board his lliip, giving him the
hope that he would foon reftore him to his native
country. But Captain Roberts having met a
native of the iflands of the north-west Group
on an ifland of the south-east Group, does not
prove that the communication from the one group
to the other is habitual j the age even of this in-
habitant of the NORTH-WEST Group, and the de-
termination which he ventured to take of abandon-
ing himfelf to ftrange men, who muft have ap-
peared formidable to him, but who promifed to
carry him back to his own country, feem to in-
dicate that the means of communication from the
one group to the other are as difficult to thefe
iflanders, as the opportunities of them muft be
rare : Captain Cook and Captain Marchand never
faw at La Madre de Dios any ôther canoes than
thofe which had come thither from O-Hivahoa,
Mendana*» La Dominica.
FOURTH
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
FOURTH ADDITION,
For the IJland of Tinian,
IN the Narrative of Marchandas Voyage
(pages 51 to 80 of this Vol.), I have prefented
two very different pi6i:ures of the Ifland of Ti ni an :
that which Richard Walter^ Chaplain to Com-
modore Ansonj has drawn us of the ftate of the
ifland in 1742 ; and that of the ftate in which it
has appeared in later times : in 17653 to Com-
modore Byron; in 1767, to Captain Wallis ;
in 1787, to Captain Portlock ; in 1788, to
Captain Gilbert and to Captain Sever, fepa-
rately. I ought likewife to have mentioned the
defcription given of it by Lieutenant Georg?
Mortimer, of the Marines, a paffenger on board
the brig Mercury, commanded by Captain Henry
Cox, who touched at Tinian on the 12th of De-
cember 1789, and came to an anchor in that very
|road, off the fouth-weft point of the ifland, where
all the navigators of his nation who preceded him,
had alio anchored. I fliall repair this omiflion, and
make Lieutenant Mortimer fpeak for himfelf*.
' * OhferijattQns and Remarks made during a <voyage to the
ffiands of leneriffey 8cc. — North-n^efl coaji of America, &c. — -
Otaheltej Sec. — Tlnlauy and thence to Canton. — In the Brig
Mercury, commanded by I. H. Cox, Efq, By Lieut. George
t^ortimer of the Marines^ Londop, 179Ï. 4to. pages 64 ar>d
following.
X a . « On
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.^
On our arrival, a fine breeze fetting off the
land, fainted us with the moft fragrant and delight-
ful odours i and we were foon gratified with the
fight of fo me beautiful white cattle, feeding and
frifliing, about among the trees; which addccf
greatly to the charmin-g appearance of this iflaocl.
The boats were hoifled out, and the captain with
a party of us went on fliore, where we expedled
to procure forae frefli beefj but were difappoint-
cd, as the cattle retired among the woods the inftant '
they faw us ; and it would have been in vain to
have purfued them for the underwood was nearly
impenetrable : we therefore returned on board
again, after having loaded the boat with wood,
and gathered a quantity of fine limes.
The next morning we went on fhoFe again^ ,
and landed further to the no'rthward than we had Î
done on the preceding day. Here we found feveral
huts erected by the Spaniards who come here an-
nually from their fcttkment at Guam to procure
beef for the garrifon of that ifland. The Spaniards,
or fome other people, muft have quitted Tinian
but a very lliort time before our arrival, as they had
left a wild hog in a ftye,- that had died but lately, ' |
and a fine dog, which we caught, and carried on
board with us. We were directed by a beaten j
path, about forty yards in length from the Fiuts,
to the well mentioned by Lord Anson and Com-
modore Byron ; and though the water it contains
is not' the befi: in the world, it by no means |
defervcs
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE. 309
deferves the reproaches beftowed upon it by the
Commodore, fince we neither found it brackilh
nor full of worms, as he affefts it to have been*.
And here I cannot help obferving, that this gen-
tleman feems to have taken as much pains to
depreciate this ifland, as Lord Anson had been
too lavifli in his encomiuins on it j* i for, whatever
may have been the ftate of Tinian when his
Lordfhip was there, future vifiters may look about
in vain for thofe delightful lawns, painted in fuch
glowing colours by the author of his voyage.
Our people being fet to work to cut wood for
fuel, and other purpofec, I fet out from the huts
where t^hey were ftationed, in company with our
third fnate and one of the feamen, in purfuit of
game. We at firft followed the traces of a path ;
but it foon failing us, we were obliged to force
* Commodore Byro» was at Tlnlan in the month of Auguft,
and Captain C<?x, in the month of December, the difference of
the feafons might probably occafion a difference in the ftate of a
aveîl: Captain Gilbert, in the month of Auguil 1 7 88, foun4
it dry.
+ It is difficult to pronounce between two voyagers, who
both declai;^, / /aiv it ; we mufl, however, remark, that all
the navigators who h,av,e touched at Tinia?i fmce Byron defcribed
to us its prefent ftate, have confirmed what he has faid of it.
The manner in which feamen view objeéls depends a little
on the fituation in whicli they find themfelves when they land
in a country : we are lefs difficult in proportion as we haye more
wants ; the land has fo many charms, when, for a length of
time, we have been condemned Co fee nothing but (ky and
water ,!
X 3 our
310 ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
our way through the thickets, in hopes, as we got
into the interior part of the country, we lliould get
clear of the trees and underwood : which we did,
after having proceeded a confiderable diftance with
great labour and fatigue ; but we were ftill fo much
incommoded by a kind of wood that grew as high
as our breads, by the heat, and by an intolerable
number of flies, that I quitted my companions,
who wiflied to penetrate a little farther into the
country, and made the beft of my way back to the
wooding party at the huts, whei;e I did not arrive
till late in the afternoon, being nearly exhaufted
with the fatigue of pufliing through the bufhes,
and climbing trees, to fee that I was going in a
proper diredion, which was a very ncceffary pre-
caution, as I was at one time loft for upwards of
two hours. I met with a great many wild hogs;
and I had nearly ftumbled upon an animal which,
on being roufed, darted through the thicket with*
fuch velocity, that I could not diftinguifh what it
was j but fuppofe it to have been one of the gua-
nacocs defcrlbed by Lord Anson, and which are
faid to abound in the neighbouring Iflands of
Saypan and Aguigan. I faw alfo fome fowls in
my ramble, and fhot a pig. Our third mate, who
returned about half an hour after me, reported,
that foon after I had feparated from him, he fell in
with a herd of cattle, and fhot one of them, a fine
young bull -, but, having only one man with him,
and it being a confiderable diftance from the
beach,
"ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE.
beach, he was obliged to leave the carcafs in the
charge of his companion, who confented to remain
with it all night ; being apprehenfive they might
not have found the place again, had they both
returned together.
Next morning, a party was fent to procure
fome of the animal ; but, upon their arrival, the
greater part of it was found to be tainted and en-
tirely fpoiled ; however, fome pieces were cut from
the parts that were the lead afFedted and brought
on board, which furnilhed us with an excellent
difh of foup, and fome (leaks, the meat being very
tender and fine grained (we have no difficulty in
believing it, quid non fames /) Wild hogs and
poultry are in great abundance at Tinian ; and
though the latter are Ihy and difficult to come at,
on account of the underwood, it is pleafing to
hear them crowing and cackling in every direction ;
fo that it is difficult to diveft one's felf of the
idea of being in the vicinity of fome country vil-
lage, or large farm-yard. Tinian produces plenty
of limes, lemons, guavas, fome cocoa-nuts, cuftard-
apples, and indifferent oranges, with a variety of
beautiful trees, among which was the bramin and
bread-fruit trees, but the latter had no fruit upon
them ; and the cotton flirub. In our different
cxcurfions on lliore, we met with the remains of
feveral of thofe curious edifices defcribed by Lord
Anson, and fuppofed to have been ereded by
the original inhabitants of the ifland. Thefe iDuild-
^ 4 ings
312 ^ ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE,
ings are of a mod fingular ftrudure, and confift,
in their prefent ftate, of two ranges of columns,
cither of ftone or compofition, and of a pyrami-
dical form, having large femi-gfcbes placed on
their tops, with their furfaces upwards.
" If thefe ftrudlures are really of ftone, which
I imagine them to be, it is aftonifliing how a rude
and uncivilized people, unacquainted with any of
the arts necefiary for the purpofe, and without
proper tools, could have formed and ere6led them*.
We meafured one of the pillars, and its femi-globe
or capital, the dimenfions of which were as fol-
low :
Feet Inches.
Perpendicular height of the pyramid . . 14 o
Breadth at the bafe 5 4
Diameter of the femi-globe 5 IP
" Having got on board a fufficient ftock of
wood, and filled our empty water- calks, we got
under way in the evening, and ftood to the weft-
ward. The thermometer, while we lay in the road
of TiNiAN, kept, with little variation, at 83*;
but the heat was confiderably more intenfe on
fliore."
* We are lefs aftonifhed at the circumftances, when we arc
acquainted with the cohjfal fiatues which the inhabitants of Eafter
Ille, full as deftitute of implements and tools as thofe of T'tman
could be, have erefted, in ancient times, on the circumference
of their ifland. [See the Voyage of the Dutch Admiral Rog-
genjceen. — See alfo Cook'^ Second Voyage. — La Perou/e'^ Voy-
age, &c.)
It
ADDITIONS TO THE NARRATIVE. 313
It has been feen (page 64, note * of this Vol.)
that Anson*s hiftorian was of opinion that the pil-
lars and maffive femi-globes by which they are fur-
mounted, were formed of fand and ftone cemented
together, and covered with plafler: Mortimer
thought them of ftone or composition. Byron
who caufed the Ifland of Saypan to be vifited, in
1765, tells us, that there were feen on it many
" of thofe fquare pyramidal pillars which are to
*• be found at Tin i an, and which are particularly
defcribed in the account of Lord Anson's voy-
age but he does not fay whether he himfelf
fawanyof them at Tinian : in voyages more re-
cent than that of Byron, no mention is made of
the monuments of the latter ifland -, and this filence
had led me to conclude that time had deftroyed
them. But it is feen, by the detail into which
Mortimer has entered, that they were ftill ftanding
at the end of December 1789; and forty-feveh
years which had elapfed between Anson's voyage
and that of Cox, appeared not to have affedied
them, which may be confidered as furprifing in
works expofed to the injuries of the air, to heavy
rains, and to exceffive heats : it muft be imagined
that their conftrudion was folid, and that excellent
materials were employed in it ; for it is well known
that, when Anson faw them for the firft time, the
Spaniards already regarded them as monuments of
great antiquity.
Paris, 25 Floreal, year VII of the French Era.
(14th May 1799.)
RESULTS
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
RESULTS OF THE OBSERVATIÔNS
FOR THE
LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE,
Made on board the Jhip Solide^ in the courje of her
Voyage round the Worlds Jerving to determine the
changes occaftoned hy the Currents in the apparent
tourje and rate of failing of the jhip^ in the different
tra6îs of Jea which fhe croffedy as well as the
error in the calculation of the dead reckoning in
the interval of the obfervationsy and at the period of
each land'falL
rpHE numerous obfervations for the latitude and
longitude made on board the Solide, in her
Voyage round the World, have furniflied me with
the data neceffary for eftimating, with a correcl-
nefs fufficient for the information of navigators,
the efFe6l which the Ihip experienced from the
currents in the different traéls of fea that Ihe crofied.
I have thought that this efFe6t might be known,
at lead by approximation, if the progrefs in lati-
tude and longitude, fuch as it was announced by
the refuits of the aftronomical obfervations, was
compared with the progrefs for the fame inter-
vals, fuch as it was deduced from the ordinary
calculation
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
calculation of the Ihip's run ; and I have fuppofed
that ail the errors of the dead reckonings indicated
by the refults of thefe comparifons, ought to be
attributed to the unperceived a6lion of the cur-
rents which had driven the fhip out of her apparent
courfe, and occafioned her to make, in a direction
different from that fhc had appeared to follow, a
progrefs, which, by the ufual methods of keep-
ing a reckoning, could not be eflimated, either as
to its length, or as to the degree of velocity with
which it had been effeded.
But, in order to admit that this fuppofition
has conduded me to true refults, two others muft
likewife be admitted: the former, that the errors
of the dead reckoning depended folely on the efFe6t
of the currents; the latter, that the obfervations
of the moon's diftance from the fun or ftars, gave
refults fufficiently certain for us to be able to de-
duce from them, as from fixed points, the refults
of the calculations of the dead reckoning. I do
not therefore prefent, as ftridlly correal determi-
nations, thofe which are founded on thefe fuppo-
fitions ; and it muft not thence be concluded that
the direction and degree of velocity imprefîèd on
the Ihip, in each trad of fea, by the a6lion of the
currents, were firiElly thofe given me by the refults
of my calculations : ftill lefs muft it be expeded
that, at all times, in the fame trad of fea they
will again be found the fame. But my labour
will indicate to navigators what ufeful employment
they
3 lé MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
they can make of lunar obfervations, for the pnr-
poie of improving this branch of hydrography,
which, hitherto, has been too much negledled : for,
if on the one hand, from the want of precifion
in the obfêrvations, and on the other, from the
uncertainty of the dead reckoning, the errors of
which may not always arife from the fole a6lion
of the currents, the determinations of the efFed
of the movement of the waters on the Ihip's courfe,
fuch as I have deduced them, do not prefcnt theiH-
felves with the confidence of geometrical exa6t-
nefs, they may at leafi: be confidered as approxi-
mations, which cannot be very wide of the truth -,
and in their flate of imperfection, they will ftill be
of great utility to fhips that fliall traverfe the trads
of fea which the Solide crofled in her circumna-
vigation of the globe*.
It
* The lunar method not being able to give the longitude
at fea without an uncertainty of about half a degree, a precifion
fulficient when the queftion is to make the land after a long voy-
age, it cannot indicate with a precifion of which we are cer-
tain, little differences of meridian ; becaufe the error of one of
ths two obfervations, the compared refuits of which indicate the
progrefs in longitude, may lometimes exceed thefe little differ-
ences, and even indicate them in a direction contrary to the
true one. This is not the cafe with the determinations which
are obtained from aftronomical watches and clocks, from //w^?-
ieepers or chronometers : the fmaller are the intervals of time, the
greater is the precifion of the refult ; becaufe, in a fmall interval,
the time-keeper has more certainly preferved the regularity of
^js rate of going,
,. We
M AKC H A N S V O Y AG E .
3^7
ÏC vvili be remarked that, in general, in the parts
of the Atlantic Ockak and of the Great Ocean
that the fhip crofled, the currents which fet to
the Northivard, aifo fet to the Eaftward ; while
thofe which fet to tht Southward, fet at the fame
time to the Weftward: but the quantities with
which they a6t in the direélion of the latitude and
in that of the longitude^ are neither equal in them-
felves, nor confiant ; whence refult degrees of ve-
locity which differ more or lefs, and directions,
which make angles more or lefs _ open with the
Meridians or with the Parallels. When the direc-
tions, which at the fame time partake of Northing
and Eajllng^ or of Southing and Wefting, ceafe to
have place, this change appears to be owing to
We cannot too ftrongly recommend to navigators to blend the
two methods ; they will lend to each other mutual aid ; the
time-keepers will correél the refults of the lunar obfervations,
when it is required, in the courfe of a fhip's run, to determine
the little progrefles in longitude, and to afccrtain what has
been the daily influence of the currents on the veffePs courfe ;
but, when drawing near the end of a long pafTage, it is of
importance to know with certainty the true pofition of the fhip
with refped to the place where it is wifhed to make the land,
the refults of repeated lunar obfervations, compared with thofe
given by the chronometer at the fame periods, will (hew whether
the latter have not experienced fome confiderable derangement
in its rate ; and fliould there be found, between the two refults,
a difference which might exceed a degree, as it would not en-
tirely belong to the error of the lunar obfervaîions, a mean
ihould be adopted between tiie two refults, in order to have a
determination according to which the ziavigator might dired
hib" courfe v/ith fafety.
the
gîB MARèHAND's VOYAGE.
the particular difpofition and configuration of îands
pot far diftant from the fhip's track, to gulfs, to
channels or mouths of great rivers, v/hich occafion
accidental and extraordinary currents, the cfîèél of
which the navigator ceafes to feel as foon as he
has paffed the fpace of fea to which their a6lion is
limited ; and he foon finds again the general cur-
rentj that which reigns in the offing, whofe efFedl
it is, no doubt, lefs difficult to determine on a
Ihip which it mafters, than to affign its caufe.
If, at a future period, after the obfervations
which navigators wiil find means to mukiply for
the advancement of fcience and for their own in-
tereft, we fhould happen to be convinced, that^ in
the parts of the two Oceans, crofTed by the So-
lide's track, the currents which carry a ihip to
the Northward carry her conftantly to the Eaftward^
and that thofe which carry her to the Southwardy
carry her at the fame time to the Weftward^ this
certainty would afford a mean of guarding, in part,
againfl the errors in the dead reckoning towards
the Eaft or the Weft^ on fuch days as the ilate of
the weather fliould not allow of making obferva-
tions of the moon's diftance from the fun or ftars,
or of having recourfe to a time-keeper for de-
termining the longitude : for if, by fome one of
thofe methods of which feamen are at this day in
poITeffion, the true latitude of the fliip can be
known, the difference between her real progrefs
in the interval from one day of obfervation to the
6 other.
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
m
Other, and the progrefs indicated by the dead
reckoning for the fame interval, will fhew how
much, and on what fide, in the diredion of the
latitude, the fliip has been driven out of her appa-
rent courfe ; and thence will be deduced, if not
how much, at leaft on what fide, flie mufl: have
been deranged in the direction of the longitude :
as to the quantity of this derangement, it may be
prefumed from the refults of the obfervations that
have been made on the preceding days in the traét
of fea the neareft to that in which the Ihip is
failing.
But this apparent uniformity in the currents,
this movement, which, in the Solide's voyage,
prefents to us fb few variations, muft not, how-
ever, be confidered as invariable : a long feries of
obfervations can alone inform us how far, in what
tra6ls of fea, and in what feafon, we may be per-
mitted to confider it as nearly confiant.
I have comprifed in one Table, which termi-^
nates thefe Notes, the refults of all the calculations
relative to the adion of the currents, whofe effed:
the Solide experienced in the courfe of her Voy-
age round the World -, and I am perfuaded that
thofe feamen who fliall fix their attention on this
Table, will wifh that every navigator may aflldu-
oufly employ himfelf in fuch obfervations as may,
on his return from his voyage, furnifh us with one
fimilar: hydrographers who had before them this
feries of Tables, would there find the i^/^ ne-
cefTary
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE^
celTary for conftruâiing charts, in which might be
fpccifîed in every trad of fea, the ordinary direc-
tion and ftrength of the currents ; I fay ordinary j
for they may experience derangements in their
diredion and velocity, from the effed: of accidental
and unknown caufes : and, perhaps, they even
experience periodical changes : but if the changes
be regular, it will be fufficient, in order to fuc-
''ceed one of thefe days in afcertaining the law by
which they are governed, to have a feries of obfer-
vations made in the fame tra6ls of fea in different
feafons. Let navigators but multiply their obfer-
vations, time and men of fcience will do the
reft.
The precifion with which the Solide made all
her land-falls, by regulating her courfe according
to the refult of the obfervations for the longitude,
(hews the degree of confidence that we may grant
to the determinations of the effe5ls of the currents^
which has been deduced from thefe very obferva-
tions in the courfe of the diffçrent funs. The preci-
fion of the land-falls proves, ^t^tlie^^amc time, what
fafety the methods whicti>>;9s^>J!e- employed for
determining the lo Agi tude afford" to navigators.
Their advantage cannot fail to be appreciated, if,
at every period in which the fbip touches at places
whofe geographical fituation is determined, we
compare the refult of the obfervations with that
which would have been given by the ordinary
calculation of the dead reckonings and I fhall take
care
Dec. 1790.] MARCliAND's VOYAGE.
Gare to place this comparifon before the eyes of
the reader at the end of each run : may it make
our navigators fenfible that the dead reckoning is no
more than a fubfidiary method, of which it is no
longer allowable to make ufe but as a provifional'
fupplementj and merely when it is not pofTible to
find in the heavens, by the obfervation of the fun,
moon, and (tars, the pofition in which the Ihip
mull be on the globe 1
FIRST RUN.
From the Strait of GIBRALTAR to the CAPE
DE VERB IJlands.
NOTE I*.
On the 29th of December 179O, at eight
o'clock in the evening. Cape Spartel (on the
Coaft of Afri^^a.^ ^wiien 'the fhip had cleared the
Sfraic of GriBRA^ife;%g> bore direcliy fouthf, diftant
I i leagues. ' ^ . '
* In the Journal of the Route, on the days fpecified, will be
found the elements of the calculations and refaits which thefe
N>!E> prefent.
+ In all the points of the compafs mentioned in thefe Note^^
allowance is made for the variation of the magnetic needl-e, and
• they are reduced to the true north, unlefs it be exprefsly men-
tioned to the contrary.
VOL, If. Y The
322 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dcc. I79O.
The obfervatlons of Borda, in 1776, have fixed
the latitude of this cape at 35^ 47' 20'^ north, and
its longitude at 8° 14' weft from Paris*.
Thus, the Solide, in taking her departure from
the bearing taken at eight o*clock, failed from
the latitude of 35^^ "52' 2q'\ and longitude of
8^14'.
NOTE îl. ■
On the 5th of January 1791, at three quarter^
paft one o'clock in the afternoon. Captain Mar-
chand got fight of the Peak of Teneriffe; and
it bore fouth 6^ 30' eaft, an the diftance of thirty-
five leagues efti mated by the eye.
From noon to three quarters pad one, the ihip.
had run B miles weft fouth-weft 6^ 30' fouth.
Confeqiicntly, her latitude had diminiftied fince
noon, nearly 4 minutes, and her longitude had in-
creafed about 8 minutes.
The lautude obferved at noon was 30^ 8^: that
of the Peak is 28° 17^: thus at this period, the
iliip was more to the northward- than the Peak
byi^si'.
At three quarters paft one, this difference had
diminiflied 4 minutes ; confequently, the fhip
was then only 1^ 47' to the northward of the
Peak.
* Thefe determinations are taken from a Manufcript commu-
T*icated by Borda,
In
Dec. 1791.] marchand's voyage.
In this fituation, the Peak bore fouth 30'
eaft : the fhip was therefore 12 miles, or about 14
minutes, more to the weRward than the Peak.
The longitude of the Peak, reduced hy the
operations of îft)RDA*, to that of the town of
Santa Cruz, is 19^: thus that of the fhip was
19° 14'.
And if it be wifhed to reduce it to noon, the
8 minutes progrcfs to the weftward, from ' that
time to three quarters paft one muft be dedu6led,
and it will then be no more than 19° b\
Let us at preftmt compare this lafl-mentioned
longitude with that of the. point of departure, on
the 29:h of December, to die northward of Cape
* The longitude of the town of Santa Cruz (at the Mole),
reduced to that of the obfei vatory at Cadiz^ is fixed at iS^ 36'
weft from Paris, by a mean between the determinations given
by the time-keepers of Ferdinand Berthond, on board the Ifis, in
1 769 fPifigr/ and Pletirieu J on board the F/ora, in 1 77 lyfVerdunf
Bordû and Fingre'J on board the Boi/JJolej in 1776 ^ Borda J : and
feveral obfervations of the eclipfes of Jupiter's Satellites, made,
,in 177IJ by Father Femllée (Mé/n. de V Acad, des Science
17-6, page 135 to 146) and in thefe latter times by Vafela
'(Borda' s MSS.J and the correfpondent ones of which have
■been had in the obfervatories of Enrope, confirm this determi-
nation. Its latitude has been fixed by a great number of ob-
fervations at 1^ 28' 30" north.
The latitude "and longitude of the Peak of Tenerife were re-
duced to that of Santa Cruz by the operations of Borday whofe
name is a fiifficient voucher for the exaclnefs of the operations
and refults: he has determined its latitude at 28^ iq' north,
and its longitude at 19'' weft from Paris. ( MSS. communicated
by B^rdaJ.
Y 2 Spar.-
MARCH AN î>''s VOYAGE. [J**^* *79*'
Spartel, 8® we lliali fee that the real pro-
grels towards the weft, from the 29th of Decem-
ber to the 5th of January (in feven days want-
ing 8 hours) was 10'' 52 ; but, according to the
dead reckoning, her apparent progrefs is 11^32'^
thus, from the effcCl: of fome current, the fhip
was carried two- thirds of a degree towards the
caft, or (reducing the parts of the equator into
marine miles, on a mean parallel between the two
extreme parallels) 38 miles lefs towards the weft
than the reckoning indicated 5 which gives for the
mean elFccl of the current towards the eaft, 54
miles in twenty-four hours.
in comparing daily the latitudes obferved with
thofe which were deduced from the dead reckon-
ing, it will be found that the fliip was drifted by
the currents, fomctimes towards the fouth, fome-
times towards the north, and, allowing for the
quantineii in contrary directions which do away
each other, flie was carried 9 minutes, or 9 miles,
towards the foiith : in combining them with the
38 miles eafting, we have for the imperceptible
movement of the ihip, 39 miles to the eaft 13*
30' fouth, and for the mean drift per day in that
direction 5.8 miles : but it may be prcfumed that
her progrefs towards tht eaft was conftant, as it
ftîouîd be, according to the remark of all the navi-
gators who have experienced that the waters of the
Ocean fet with a rather confiderable velocity to-
"wards th<f S.rrait of Gibraltar, through which
they"
Jan. 1791.]
Marchandas voyage.
they run into the Mediterranean, .whofe receipt
from the rivers which diicharge themfelves into
it, does not compenfate for the expenditure that
is made by evaporation *.
I fhall here make a remark acceffory to the ob*
jeâ: of this Note,
* In a run which I made in 1769, from Cadiz to the Ifland
of Tenerifftf by a direél courfe and with a fteady breeze from
nor th-eail to eaft-north-eaft, I had an opportunity of afcertaining
the conftant efFeft of the current which fets to the eaftward as
long as a (hip fails in the trad of fea fituated to the weftward
of the Strait of Gibraltary and at a little diftance from it. Clear
weather permitted me, during the four days employed in this
run, to take daily obfervations for determining the longitude of
the fhip by the help of the time^keepers of Ferdinand Berthoudy
of which I had been ordered to make a trial, and whofe daily
rate had been afcertained at Cadi^\ and in comparing, every
day, the fhip's progrefs towards the weft deduced from the ob-
fervations, with that i.ndicated by the dead reckoning, I had the
following refults,
On the I ft day, the current had fet to the eaftward, 1 on
the 2nd, I2|'; on the 3rd, 9^^;, on the 4th, i'.
It is feen that, during the firft three days, the movement im-
prelTed on the (hip to the e^iftward, carried her towards that fide,
33y or 27I miles, and by a mçan, about 8 miles in twenty-
four hours.
But the aélion of the current ceafed to be felt on the 4th
day when the fliip had reached the parallel of 3 1*^: (See the
Voyage de VlfiSy en I'^Gi et i']6g, à différentes parties du Monde
pour éprQwver les Horloges marines^ <^c<, Paris hnprim, R^'^-
Vol. I. page 279.)
The quantities which the ftiip had been carried, in the fame
interval, towards the fouth or towards the north, had nearly
counterbalanced each other : 8 J-' rq the fouthv/ard, 6 J-' to the
portjiward. (See Ih'J. Vq-1. 11. pagp 2ro,)
Y 3
Tiie
326 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. U^^-^jg^'
The latitude obfervcd, at noon, was 30*^ 8^:
from noon to three quarters pad one, the period
at which a bearing was taken of the Peak, the
lliip's progrefs had been 4 minutes towards the
fouth i thus, at three quarters pad one, the lati-
tude was no more than 30° 4' : and it was more
northerly than the Peak, by 1° 47' or 351 leagues.
Captain Marchand had eftimated by the eye that
the diftance might be 35 leagues: and the obfer-
vation of latitude proves that the real diflance dif-
fered very little from this eftimation : it proves
too, and this is what I v/ifh to conclude from it,
that in coming from the northward, as from every
other part of the horizon, the Peak of Tene-
RiFFE may be diftinguifhed at the diflance of 35
or 36 leagues, even when the weather is not per-
fedly clear: for we fee, in the Journal of the
Route, that, from noon of the 5th to noon on
the 6th, the wind was to the northward, variable,
and faint -, and the weather bazy. Thus, when the
bearing of the Peak was taken at three quarters
pad one on this latter day, the weather could not
be perfe6i:ly clear -, but it had been fufficiently fo
jjibr taking ,thc meridian altitude of the fun, and it
was fufficiently fo for the Peak to be perceived at
the diftancc of thirty- five leagues, becaufe its
fummit was not enveloped in clouds, but towered
above them. In calculating from its elevation
above the level of the fea, which the operations
of BoRDA, made in 1776, in his cxcurfion to the
lofcieft
Jan. 1791.] MARCH AN d's voyage.
loftieft point of the mountain, have fixed at 1905
toifes *, we find that the diftance at which the
Peak is feen geometricaliy in a line with the hori-
zon, regard being had to terreilrial refraftion, is
liSf minutes of a degree, or about 43 marine
leagues : and if we fuppofe the eye raifed from 20
to 25 feet above the level of the fea, this diftance
may be increafed 2 or 3 leagues. But the upper
part of the mountain, or the FiroNy forms a
truncated cone on an elevation of 500 feet 5 and
the eliptical mouth of the crater which terminates
it, and into which Borda defcended, is not more
than from 35 to 40 toifes in length in its great
diameter, which inclines towards the fouth-fouth-
caft, and from 25 to 30 only in its fmali diameter:
it may therefore be prefumed thac the mountain of
the Peak is not eafily diftinguifhed in the horizon^
except when the bafe of the P/ro.v begins to make
its appearance there 5 thereforç it may be admitted
* Two barometers were placed on the higheft 'edge of the
crater ; the one rofe to 1 8 inches, the other to 1 8 lines,
Reaumur* s ^htxmomtttr to 8f dçgrees above the freezing point.
On comparing thefe quantities to thofe which the barometers of
comparifon had rifen, at the fame hour, at the fea-fide, and on
applying, for the corredions to be made, the rule of M, de Luc^
we find the height of the peaîç abovç the level of the ocean, to
be 1929 toifes. The trigonometrical meafiUe, taken wit|i 2\\
the precautions that could infure its exa(5lrTefs, gave 1905 toifes ;
and it is feen that the height indicated by the barometer differs,
érom the true only by 24 toifes. (Thefe meafwyes arç take^
ffçm à Manufcript communicated by ^Qrd&\
Y 4 îhaç
328 marciiand's voyaçe. [J«n- 1791»
tjiat the greateft diftancc at which the Peak of
Teneriffe car? be perceived from a fliip's deck,
is 42 or 43 leagues : I fay nothing of the little dif-
ferences which drpend orj the variation of terref-
trial refraôiops, which varying according to the
temperature and the ftate of the atmofphere,
change thp apparent height pf mountains.
According to thefe meafures which no one wiîl
conteft, we may judge how greatly yoyûgers have
exaggerated, who have told us that they had per-
ceived the Peak of Teneriffe fipcty and a hundred
leagues pfF at fea *.
NOTE III.
In comparing the longitude g}vep by two fets of
diftances of the fun and moon, obferycd on the
^th, at three quarters paft tlirec o'clock in the
afternoon, and reduced to noon of that day, with
that which had been deducjcd, on the 5th, from
the bearing of the Peak of T^neiuffe^ it is
feen that, in interval of four days, the progrefs
towards the wed^ had been 0^ 40'. In reducing^
in like naanner, to the bearing of the Peak the
longitude given by the dead reckoning on the 9t(i
at noon," it will be found that the progrefs indica-
ted by the reckoning, from the 5th to the 9th of
%hc mopth, was 3° 34': thqs, the (liip had again
♦ See thelltjoirr générale de Voyages \>y Vrévsfiy VoL II.'
ya^e 259, 410 edition.
bçen
•Jan. 1791-] MARCHAND's VOYAGEi
329
been carried towards the eaft 54 minutes, or about
49 miles, on the mean parallel between the two
extremes.
The obfervations of latitude (hewed that, in the
fame interval, fhe had been carried 12 minutes,
or 12 miles, to the fouthward, beyond the fum of
the progrefs by account.
It thence refults that the currents had fet her
50^ miles to the eaft 13^ 45' fouth, at a mean rate
of I ij in twenty-four hours.
It is very ufual, in the feas which the Solide
had crofled, for ihips to be carried to the eaftward
by the movement of the waters : and, mod com-
monly, they are at the fame time carried to the
ibuthward,
NOTE IV.
On the 14th, at noon, the fouth point of Mayo,
OIK of the Cape de VerD Iflands, bore north,
diftant one league.
By a mean between the refults of the obferva-
tions which were made on board the Isis, in 1769,
^nd on board the Flore, in 177 i, the latitude of
this point is 15® 4' 30'' north, and its longitude
as'' 28' 30'' weft*.
Lat. north. Long, weft,
* According to the obfervations made
on board the IJts .............. 15° 3'. . 25° 27'
According to thofe made on board
the Fieu 15 6 . . 25 3Q
Mean 15 4I 25 28|
The
g3<^ marchand's VOYAGE. [Jan. 1791* Ija
The fhip*s place whence the bearings were taken it
at noon was on the very meridian of this point, and ci
3 minutes more foutherly ^ thus, at that period, the tc
latitude of the fhip fliould be 15° 30'^, and that n
which was obfcrved was conformable to it : her c
longitude was that of the fouth point of Mayo, w
25^28^30'^
On comparing this longitude with that which
had been obferved on the 9th at noon, we find
that, in the interval of five days, the fhip^s pro-» i
grefs towards the weft was 3° ^2^ 30^^ According
to the dead reckoning, it ought to be only 3^ 9^:
thus the fhip was carried to the weft ward 33§ j
minutes, or 30J miles (reducing the parts of the
equatorinto marine miles by a mean parallel.)
The obfervations of latitude ftiewed that, in the
fame fpace of time, ftie was drifted to the fouth-
ward, 18 minutes, or 18 miles: thus, through the '
cfîe6l of the current, the ftiip was carried 35 J miles
to the weft 30^ 45" fouth, at a mean rate of 7.1
miles in twenty-four hours.
The longitude by account, fuch as it was given
by the dead reckoning deduced from the longitude
of the point of departure, on the 29th of Decern* ]
ber within fight of Cape Spartel, was 26° 29':
and in comparing it to the true longitude, 25° 28'
30", we find that the error of the reckoning, at
the expiration of fixteeri days, was, ahead of the 1
fhip, I degree, which, on the parallel of the point |
arrived at, is equal to 58 miles. But it has been |
4 fcç^i
Jan. 1791.] MARCH AN IJ'S VOYAGE. 334
feen that a compenfation haà taken place in the
errors : in the interval from the 29th of December
to the 9th of January, the fum of the errors in the
reckoning, ahead of the fhip, had been 87 miles
cr 1° 34'i and from the 9th to the 14th, the error
was 30.5 miles or 0° 34' ûjiern.
SECOND RUN.
From the CJPE DE VERB IJlands to within
ftght of STATEN LAND.
NOTE V.
i. The longitude of La Praya, in the Ifland of
St. Jago^ was determined by the obfervations
inade with the help of the time-pieces of Fer-.
DiNAND Berthoud, in 1769 on board .the Isis ^
in 1771, on board the Flore, and reduced to the
longitude of Cadiz*: it is 25° 2\' weft from
P^RIS.
It is from this point that the Spmde failed>
4)n the 1 8th of January, in order to get under the
Lat. North* Long. Weft«
^La?ra a \ °" board the 7/?^ 14° 52' 33'. . 25° 50' 00"
■ 1 Obferv. onboard thei^/or<? 14 43 40 . . 25 51 30
Mean 14 53 06.5 25 50 45
yneridian^
33^ MARCHAND s VOYAGE. [Jan. l/.)!.
meridian of Staten Land, which Captain Mar-
chand intended to make before he entered into
the Great Ocean, becaufe it was poffible, as
really happened, that the contrariety of the winds
might not permit him to get fight of Gape
Horn.
No obfervation of longitude could be taken till
the 6th of February : but the refults of the obfer-
vations of latitude compared to thofe of the reck-
oning fhewed that, in the interval from the 28th
to the 31ft of January, the fhip was carried to the
northward 50 minutes beyond the run by account,
that is, i6| miles in twenty- four hours.
This great effed of a current' coming from the
fouthward took plàce between the parallel of 3®
36' and that of 2° 26' north, and between 20®
35' and 21° 29' weft longitude. From the time of
the departure being taken from La Praya to this
period, very inconfiderable differences only had
been remarked between the latitudes by account
and the latitudes by obfervation : during the firft
three days, there had been no difference : from
the 2ift to the 22nd, the fliip appeared to have
been carried by the movement of the waters, 4
minutes to the fouthward ^ but on the following
days, fhe appeared to be fet to the northward:
from the 2id to the 23d, 3 minutes 3 from the 23d
to the 24th, 4 minutes, and from the 24th to the
î^gth^ I minute only.
If
Jan. 1791-] marciîand's voyage. 333
If the reader will cad his eye on the chart of
the Atlantic Ocean, he will fee that, in the
interval from the 28th to the 3ift of January,
during which the fliip experienced the effcâ: of a
(Irong foucherly current, fhe was failing in the
.part of that ocean where the waters are confined
between the two continents. It is well known
that, on the coaft of Brazil and Guiana, from
Cape St. Roque to the Antilles, the waters
have a confiant movement from the fouth to the
north, declining more or lefs towards the weft, ac*
cording to the direction of the land.
As no obfervations were made for the longitude
fince the time of the departure being taken from
La Pray a, it cannot be known whether the cur-
rent which fet to the northward, fet at the fame
tim.e to the eaftward or weftwardj it might be
prefumed that its direction was rather tov/ards this
^ latter fide^ firft, becaufe it is well known that
the waters, between the tropics, have a general
tendency from eaft to weft, and in the fécond
place, becaufe the obfervations which were made
on the 6th of February following, indicated that,
in the interval from the 1 8th of January to this
latter day, the ftiip's progrefs towards the weft
' had been greater by i° 3^ or about 21 leagues,
than that which was deduced from the dead
reckoning.
NOTE
334
MARCMANi5's VOYAGE.
[Feb. 1791.
NOTE VL
The mean refult of four fets of diflances of the
fun and moon, obfervcd on the 6th of February,
at forty-feven minutes pad four o'clock in the
afternoon and reduced to noon, gave for the lon-
gitude of the fhip at that moment, 27^ 58^ and,
on comparing it to that of La Praya 25^ 51'',
it was found that, from the i3th of January to the
6th of February, in nineteen days, the fliip's pro-
grefs towards the weft had been 2^ 27;
According to the dead reckoning, it had been
only i"^ V; thus the fhip had been carried to the
weilward, beyond the progrefs by account, i*^ f,
or 62 miles.
On comparing the flim of the progrefs in lati-
tude deduced from obfervation, vvi(h that of the
progrefs by account, ic will be found thaç from the
iSth of January to the 5th of February, the fhip
had been carried to the northward, i"^ 34', which
are reduced to jO^ becaufe, from the 21ft to
the 2 2d ilie had been carried 4 minutes ta the
fouthward j and as from the 5 th to the 6th of Fe-
bruary, file had been alfo fct to the fouthward, 9
minutes, her relative movement towards the north,
in the interval from the i8th of January to the 6i:h
of February, is reduced to 1° 21' or 81 miles.
Thus, after having combined the progrefs in
latitude with that w^hich was made in longitude, it
is feen that the fhip was carried to the north 37^
well,
Feb. MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. 335
j weft, 103 miles in nineteen days ; which gives a
I mean progrefs of 5.4 miles in twenty-four hours
I in that diredionw
NOTE VII.
Frefh obfervations for the longitude made on
the 7th, 8thj and 9th j namely -, on the firft day,
two fets of diftances of the fun and moon y on the
fécond, two others -, on the third, two more, gave
for each of the days, a refult which was reduced
to their refpe6i:ive noon.
On comparing the progrefs towards the weft in
twenty-four hours, deduced from the obfervations,
with that indicated by the dead reckoning, the fol-
lowing differences were found :
From the 6th to the 7th, the progrefs by obfer*
vation was greater than that by account, by 8
minutes;
. From the 7th to the 8th, îefs by i minute 5
From the 8th to the 9th, greater by 23 minutes 5
And in comprifing the three days, from the 6th
to the 9th, the progrefs towards the weft was
greater, according to the obfervation thaa accord-
ing to the dead reckoning, by 30 minutes, or 29I
miles*
The progrefs towards the fouth, from the 6th to
the 9th, was, daily, greater by obfervation than by
account, by 3 minutes, and 9 minutes, or nine
miles, for the three days,
.Thus,
marchand's voyage. [Feb. i/gi.
Thus, in that interval, the (hip was carried
31 miles to the weft 28° fouth j which gives a
mean movement of lOj miles in twenty-four hours
in this diredion.
If, on the 9th the abfolute longitude by obfer-
vation, 31° 8', be compared with the longitude
deduced from the dead reckoning, which is 29°
35'' in reducing the calculations to the longitude
of La Praya, it is feen that after twenty-twb/
days' navigation, the accumulated errors in the
reckoning produced one of f 33', or upwards of
thirty leagues, qfiern of the fhip's true fituation.
NOTE VHI.
On the I 2th, at nineteen minutes after four in
the afternoon, four diftances were taken of the fun
and moon, and, at night, 2l fet from the moon to
P o( Pollux. The mean between the five refults,
reduced to noon, gives for the longitude of the
fliip at that moment, 33^ 41'^ and in deducling
the latter from that of the 9th at noon, there remain
2® 33' for the f]iip*s progrefs towards the weft, in
the interval of the three days.
This progrefs, according to the dead reckoning
was only 2° 1 1'; thus, the fliip was carried to the
weftward 23 minutes, or 21.4 miles.
In the fame interval, fhe had been carried to
the fouthward 24. minutes, ôr 24 miles.
On,
Ffeb. 1791.] marchand's voyage.
337
On combining the movement, we find 32.2 miles
to the weft 48-^Touth ; and for the mean drift in
twenty-four hours> lof miles.
At the period of the 12th, the dead reckoning
was in error refpedling the longitude, i® 55', or
'about 37 leagues aft em,
NOTE IX.
The mean refult of two fets of diftances obferved
from the moon to Regulusy and from the moon to
Aldeoaran^ on the 15 th, at half paft eight o'clock in
the evening, and reduced to noon of that day,
Ihewed that, fince the 12th, the fliip's progrefs
towards the weft had been 2^ 15', but it was only
1° 42", according to the dead reckoning : thus, the
Ihip had been carried to the weftward 33 minutes,
or 31.5 miles.
In the fame interval, according to the obfer-
vations of latitude, ftie had been carried 29 mi-
nutes, or 29 miles, to the fouthward, beyond her
progrefs by account towards that fide.
On combining thefe two movements, we find
that the compound movement was 42.9 miles to
the weft, 42° 30' fouth, and the mean drift, 143
miles in twenty-four hours.
NOTE X.
Frefh obfervations made on the i6th, at nine
o'clock in the evening (two fets of diftances from
VOL. ir. z the
33»
marchand's voyage. [Feb. 1791.
the moon to Aldeharan^ and one to Regulus)^ gave
for the longitude reduced to noon, 37° 6 j and
confequently, i"^ 10', for the progrefs towards the
weft, from the 15th to the i6th.
According to the dead reckoning, this progrefs
was only 44 minutes : thus, in twenty-four hours,
the fhip was carried to the weftward, 26 minutes,
or 24.5 miles.
According to the obfervation of latitude, fhe
was at the fame time carried to the fouthward 10
minutes, or 10 miles. ^
The compound movement was therefore 26.5
iliiles to the weft, 22^30' fouth.
It is fceri that, in thefe twenty-four hours, the
movement towards the weft differs greatly, in re-
gard to the movement towards the fouth, from
the agreement that had been remarked during the
preceding periods. This difference may be owing
to the variation which the current had experienced
in its direction and velocity i but it is more pro-
bable that it is occafioned by the error in the ob-
fervations in one of the two days, or perhaps an
error in both: it is well known that t^t Lunar
Method cannot afTign with fufficient precifion fmall-
diiferences in longitude for the refults that are
deduced from them to be, in that cafe, confidered
as fixed terms of comparifon*.
NOTE
* I obferve that the cffeft of the current towards the fouth,
was, from the 12th to the 15th, ç minutes; from the .T3th to
the
Feb, 179 1-3 marcmand's voyage.
339
NOTE XL
On the 25th, fix fets of diftances of the fun and
moon, obferved at feven o'clock in the morning,
gave for the longitude at noon, 47° 56": by thofe
of the i6th, at noon, it had been 37° 6": thus
the progrefs towards the weft, according to the
obfervations, had, in nine days, been lo"^ 50^
According to the dead reckoning, it was only
9®. 5' ; and thence it was concluded that, in the
interval, the fhip had been carried to the weft-
ward I* 45', or 94| miles, beyond the apparent
run.
The ftiip's movement towards the fouth, beyond
the progrefs indicated by the dead reckoning, had
been confiderable during this period ; according to
the daily obfervations of latitude, it had amounted
the 14th, 10'; from the 14th to the 15th, 14'; from the 15th
to the 1 6th, lo^ its efFecl in the diredion of the latitude there-
fi^re experienced no great variations, efpecially during thefe laft-
mentioned days ; and it might be fuppofed that the efFeâ: towards
the weft did not proportionably undergo more confiderable ones.
We would then fay : if, from the 12th to the 15th, with a total
effeél towards the fouth of 29', the Ihip experienced an efred
towards the weft of 33'; with an efîeél of 10' towards the fouth,
what muft have been the effeft towards the weft ? We ftiould find
that the laft term of this proportion is minutes, which muft
be added to 44 minutes, the (hip's progrefs towards the weft^
according to the dead reckoning, from the 15 th to the i6th: we
fhall have 54} minutes for the prefumed progrefs, fmaller by 14
or 1 5 minutes than that indicated by the obfervations*
Z 2 to
34Q marchand's VOYAGE. [Feb. i/gi.
to 20 minutes, from the 17th to the i8th; to 14
minutes, from the 2 2d to the 23d j to 20 minutes,
from the 23d to the 25th. The fum of thefe
differences, relatively to the dead reckoning, was
1^ Yi or 67 miles, which Ihe had been carried to
the fouthward.
The combination of thefe movements for which
the dead reckoning had not been able to account,
towards the fouth and towards the weft, gives
II 5 f miles to the weft 36° fouth : and the fhip had
been carried in that direélion at the mean rate of
12.8 miles in the twenty-four hours.
Obfervations for the longitude, made on the
26th (fix fets of diftances of the fun and moon, at
eight o'clock in the morning), announced that, in
the interval from the 25th to the 26th, the calcu-
lation of the dead reckoning agreed with the refult
of the obfervations.
But the obfervation of latitude ftiewed that, in
the. fame interval, the fhip had been carried 22
minutes to the fouthward.
At the period of the 26th, the longitude by
account, deduced from that of La Pray a, at the
expiration of thirty-nine days, was afiern of that
given by the obfervations, 4^39, or upwards of
78 leagues on the parallel of the point arrived
at.
It may have been remarked that, from the 6th
of February, the period at which the fhip, having
arrived at 5° 30' fouth of the line, had pafled be-
yond
Feb. 1791-] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. 34I
yond the parallel of Cape St. Roque, whence the
eaftern coaft of South-America begins to trend
towards the fouth-weft, and extends in that direc-
tion as far as the Strait of Magellan, Ihe was
conftantly carried to the fouth-weft, declining fome-
times towards the weft, fometimes towards the
fouth^ and with degrees of velocity which kept
increafing, in proportion as fhe increafed her
latitude.
If it be wiflied to afcertain what was, in the
interval of the laft twenty days, from the 6th to
the 26th of February, the total effedl of the fetting
of the currents on the courfe and rate of failing
of the fliip, we may caft up the fum of the im-
perceptible progrefs towards the weft, and of that
towards the fouth, which the refult of the obfer-
vations indicated at different periods ; it will be
feen that the ftiip was driven out of her apparent
courfe, 161 miles (2° 41') towards the fouth;
and 201.3 lï^iles (3^ 47') towards the weft ; and
on combining thefe two movements, it will be
found that the unperceived mean movement of
which thefe were no more than the decompofition,
was 266.6 miles to the fouth-weft 7° 45' weft:
which implies a mean drift, relatively to the
duration of the period, of i3|. miles, in twenty^
four hours in that mean diredion.
NOTE
marchand's voyage. [Feb. 1791-
NOTE XTL
The mean refult of four fets of diftances of the
fun and moon, obferved on the 8th of March, at
fifty-two minutes pad three o'clock in the after-
noon, and reduced to noon of that day, gave for
the longitude of the fhip, 48* é'; and on comparing
it with that which had been obtained on the 26th
of February by fix fets of fimilar obfervations, and
which was 48* 23' 30^', it will be found that, in
the interval of ten days, the ftiip had been driven
back to the eaftwardy 17! minutes, or 14! miles.
But, on decompofing the different courfes which
the fhip had followed in this fame fpace of time^
and on calculating according to the apparent de-
grees of velocity with which fhe had run them,
it will be feen that fhe ought to have advanced
173 miles, or 3* 29^ to the weflward ; and this is
the difference which is to be found between the
longitude by account of the 26th of February,
43° 44', and that of the 8 th of March, 47'' 13'.
The fum of the apparent progrefs towards the
wefl and of the real progrefs towards the eafl
(3° 40' 30'', or 187.5 lï^iles) is the difference
between the refult of the obfervations made .on
the two extreme days of the period, and that of
the calculations of the dead reckoning in the in-
terval of the ten days.
The fhip's progrefs in latitude towards the fouth
was, in the fame interval, according to the obfer-
vations.
Feb. 1791.] marchand's voyage*
343
vations, 4® 18', or 258 miles, and that which the
dead reckoning would have given, would, by the
accumulation of its daily errors, have been greater
than the obferved progrefs, by 20', or 80 miles :
but it was corre6bed by every obfervation of lati-
tude ; and the frue latitude was daily employed
as an element in the calculations of the dead reck-
oning.
If, with the real progrefs towards the fouth, 258
miles, and the eftimated or apparent progrefs to-
wards the weft, 173 miles, if it be wifhed to afcer-
tain what were the apparent courfe and rate of
failing of the Ihip, it will be found that fhe ap-
peared to run 311 miles to the fouth 33° 45' weft ;
while in reality, with the fame progrefs of 258
miles to the fouthward, and the progrefs by ob-
fervation of 14I miles to the eaftward, ihe advanced
258^ miles to the fouth 3^ 1 5' eaft.
Thus, the effe6l of the currents, in ten days,
occafioned an error of 37^ on the angle of the
courfe.
It occafioned another error of 187! miles (or
3*46' 30^0 in the fhip*s progrefs in longitude.
This efFed -of the currents carried the fhip only
171', or 14I: miles to the eaftward of the pofition
flie was in on the firft day of th€ period ; becaufe
the action of the wind which drove her to the
weftward, nearly balanced that of the body of the
waters which carried her to the eaftward ; and the
14I miles exprefs the excefs of the ftrength of the
z 4 current
I
344 MARCH and's voyage. [Feb. 1791.
current beyond that of the wind, relatively to the
progrefs in longitude ; but its abjb^ute ftrength,
with refped to this fame progrefs, or the error of
the dead reckoning, is exprefîçd by the whole of
the 187 miles of difference between the fum of the
progrefs by account each day of the period, and
the real progrefs deduced from the obfervations
made on the firft and laft day.
It has been feen that, while the fhip was carried
to the eaftward, fhe was alfo carried to the north-^
ward, and that the fum of the daily errors of the
dead reckoning with refpedl to the progrefs in
latitude, gives a total error of 1° 20', or So miles
in excefs, towards the fouth. If we combine thç
80 miles which the fhip was carried to the north-
ward, with the 1 875 miles which fhe was carried
to the eaftward, it will be found that, by an unper-
ceived effed which muft have efcaped the calcu-
lations of the dead reckoning, the fetting of thç
currents had caufed the fhip to make, in the in-
terval of ten days, 204 miles in the direélion of
eaft if north. In dividing the number of miles
by that of the days of the period, we lhall have
for the mean degree of velocity which the current
imprelTed on the fhip in twenty-four hour$, 2o'.4,
or upwards of 61 leagues.
Thus, the currents which, from the 6th of Fe-
bruary, when the fhip had reached the latitude of
5° 40' fouth, and the longitude of 28® wcfl, till
the 26th of the fame month, when flie had arrived
at
March 1791.] marchand's voyage.
345
at the latitude of 32° 30^ and longitude of 48® 20/,
had conftantly fet to the fouthward and weftward,
from the latter day, fet, with confiderable ftrengthj
to the northward and eaftward.
V- Although, in the courfe of this period, the
Solide had fometimes contrary and rather ftrong
winds, at other times calms, and almoft always
a fwell which came from the weft and fouth-weft ;
yet it is not folely to the difficulty of corredly
cftimating the courfe. and rate of failing of the
(hip in fimilar circumftances, that we may attribute
the whole amount of the partial errors refpedling
the latitude, which the daily obfervations caufed to
be difcovered, or the total error refpeding the
fliip's progrcfs in longitude, which the obferva-
tions of the laft day of this period brought to light.
We muft therefore feek another cauie for thefe
errors ; and we find it if we caft our eyes on the
South Atlantic Ocean, and there fet off the
fliip's place on the firft and laft day of this
period.
On the 26th of February, in 32® 30^ fouth lati-
tude, the fhip was in 48® 23' 30'' weft longitude,
and on the 8th of March, in latitude 36"* 48',
in 48° 6' longitude : thus, in her route, fhe had,
within a few minutes, followed a meridian : fhe
had run 258! miles to the fouth 3* 30' eaft. The
meridian on which the balanced efFed of the wind
and current had nearly kept her, is only about a
hundred leagues diftant from that of the vaft
mouth
$i6 MARCHAND's VOYAGE. [Maixli 1 79 1,
mouth of the great River of La Plata, the middle
of which is fituated on the parallel of 35* 30', and
which occupies 1^ 40' in latitude, if we meafure
this mouth between Cape Antonio, to the fouth,
and Cape Santa Maria, to the north : now,
from the 26th of February to the 8th of March,
tht fhip had failed between the parallels of 32 and'
37 degrees ; fbe therefore croiFed the ftrength of
the current whofe effefl, in ifTuing from the Rio
DE LA Plata, extends, like that of the Mar anon,
or River of the Amazons, to a great diftance at
.'fea; and as this current fets to the eaftward, de~
<:lining towards the north, it is not aflronifliing
that the fhip fliould have been carried in a di-
redion analogous to that of the movement of the
waters, and with a degree of velocity proportionate
to that of the current, or rather to the excefs of
the ftrength of the latter beyond that of the wind
which drove the (hip in an oppofite direélion.
It might be imagined that the ftrength of th«
current for carrying the ihip to the eaftward, was
greater on the laft days of the period, than on
the fir ft, were we to judge by that with which
{he was driven to the northward ; for it may be
feen in the Journal of the Route, that, from
the 5th to the 7th of March, her progrefs in lati-
tude, according to the dead reckoning, ought to
have been no more than i? minutes towards the
north, and that, according to the obfervations it
was I* 4', which proves that, in two days, the
6 fliip
March 1791.] MARGHAND'S VOYAGE. 347
(hip, by an imperceptible movement, had been
carried 52 minutes, or 17 j leagues to the north-
ward. But I remark that, on the 5th, the Ihipwas,
according to the obfervation of that day, in latitude
J7*39> ^^^^ '^^y about 1^30^ more foutherly than
the parallel of Cape Sant Antonio, the fouth
point of the mouth of the Rio de la Plata ; and
that it is from this pofition that, in the interval
from the 5th to the 7 th, as was lliewn by the
obfervation of this latter day, that ûic was carried
by the movement of the waters, 52 minutes to
the northward : which again placed her 25 minutes
, only to the fouth ward of the parallel of Cape
Sant Antonio : flie had -therefore pafled beyond
the parallels of the mouth of the river, when Ihe
experienced this fécond movement towards the
north; and it is prefumable that the great efFed
of the current of the Rio de la Plata for fetting
to the eaftward, mufl: be principally felt when a
fhip is croffing the parallels between which its
mouth is fituated. This current towards the north
- might therefore be an accidental current, a confe-
quence of winds from the fouthern quarter which
had previoufly reigned, as the fwell from the fouth-
weft feemed to indicate.
But the effect of the accidental current ceafed
on the 8th; for the refult of the obfervation of
latitude on the 5th, compared with that of the
dead reckoning, proved that, from the 8th to the
9th, the fhip had been fet to the fouth ward 26
minutes.
34^ MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [ March 1791,
minutes, or 8| leagues, beyond the progrefs by,
account: and from the loth to the iith, the er-
ror in the fame diredtion was 38 minutes, or i2|
leagues.
Let us at prefent examine how the longitude
by account according to the calculation of the
^hip*s run from La Praya, whence her departure
was taken on the 1 8th of January, agreed, on the
8th of March, with the longitude deduced from
the obfervations of that day.
It will be feen in the Journal of the Route,
that the longitude by account which, on the 26th
of February, was aftern of the longitude by ob-
fervation, 4° 39', differs from it in the fame direc-
tion, on the 8th of March, no more than 53 mi-
nutes. This approximation is the effeél of the
error of 3° 46' ahead, which was committed in
the dead reckoning in the interval from the 26th
of February to the 8th of March; the diminution
of the error is therefore the efFe6t of a compenfa-
tion which the oppofite currents effeded without
the knowledge of the navigator ; but it is not, on
that account, lefs evident that the fum of the abfo-
lute errors of the dead reckoning, in the one di-
re6tion or in the other, in forty-nine days, is nearly
eight degrees and a half.
NOTE,
March 1791.] marchandas voyage.
349
NOTE XIII.
The longitude deduced for the noon of the
îoth, by four fets of diftances of the fun and
moon, obferved in the afternoon, and two fets of
diftances from the moon to j3 of Pollux^ obferved
in the evening, was, by a mean, found to be 53°
1 6'5 and in comparing it to the longitude obferved
on the 8th, 48*^ 6', the fhip's progrefs towards the
weft was, in the interval of the two days, 5° 10'.
It is only 4^ 56', by the dead reckoning : thus
the ihip was carried 14 minutes, or 11 miles, to
the weft ward.
The fhip's progrefs in latitude towards the fouth,
in the fame fpace of time, was greater by obfer-
vation than by dead reckoning, by 29 minutes,
or 29 miles.
On combining the difference towards the weft
with the difference towards the fouth, it will be
found that the current which drove the ihip out
of her apparent courfe, carried her in the dirediion
of fouth 20° 45' weft, at the rate of 3 1 miles, in
two days, or of 15^ miles in twenty -four hours.
By going through the fame operation 'for the
following days, and comparing the refults of the
obfervations with thofe of the dead reckoning,
as well for the progrefs in longitude as for the
progrefs in latitude, it will be found :
That, from the nth to the 12th, the fliip ap-
pears to have been carried 44 minutes, or 34 miles,
5 to
marchand's voyage. [March 1791.
to the weft, and 38 minutes, or 38 miles to the
fouth which gives fouth 42® weft :
That, from the nth to the 12th, fhe was car-
ried 24 minutes, or 18.5 miles to the c aft ; and
4 minutes, or 4 miles to the north ; which gives
18.6 miles to the eaft 13® 30' north.
And that, laftly, from the 12th to the 15th, ihe
was carried i minute, or 1.76 miles to the weft,
and 23 minutes, or 23 miles, to the north j which
gives 23 miles to the north i or 2° weft, and
7.6 miles as the mean drift in twenty-four
hours.
The a6lion of the currents, in the diredion of the
longitude, appears neither to have been confidcra-
ble nor conftant in the interval from the 8 th to
the 15th of March; for the fum of the differences
towards the weft, between the obfervation and the
dead reckoning, is only 45.75 miles, 1 8.5 of which
were done away by a difference of the fame quan*
tity towards the eaft; and there remain only 27.25
miles, or 35 minutes, for the excefs of the fum of
the differences towards the weft. Lunar obfer-
vations, made with fextants, as was the cafe on 1
board of the Solide, may leave an uncertainty
of about half a degree refpefting the corrednefs
of the refults : and, fhort of that term, we may
be in doubt whether the error belong to the dead
reckoning or to the obfervation.
But the adtion of the currents, in the direction
of the latitude, is not doubtful, becaufe the obfer*
vations |
March 1791.] marchand's voyage. 351
vacions which determine ic, leave not more than
a or 3 minutes of uncertainty refpeding their re-
faits : now, the currents a6led in this direction
with rather confiderablc ftrength, and in an inverfc
direction to each other. From the 8th to the loth,
they carried the fliip 29 minutes, or 29 miles to
the fouth, and from the loth to the iith, 38 mi-
nutes towards the fame fide : they afterwards car-
ried her to the north, from the nth to tlie 12th,
4 minutes, and from the 12th to the ifch, 23
minutes.
Here then, in the firft three days, from the
8th to the nth, is an unperceived movement of
a degree, or 60 miles, towards the fouth; and
I obferve that, if we judge from the refult of the
obfervations compared with that of the dead reck-
oning in the fame days, the (hip was carried at the
fame time towards the weft 58 minutes, or 45
miles : thus we here find again the fetting of the
currents fuch as we had prcvioufly remarked in
the part of the South Atlantic Ocean which
the Solide crofled, where the currents that fet to
the Jouthward fet at the fame time to the wefiwardy
and where their tendency towards the former fide,
which it is eafy to afcertain by the obfervation of
the latitude, announces their tendency towards the
latter, refpeding which it is not fo eafy to deter-
mine their effed.
From the nth to the 12th, their tendency was
towards the north and towards the eaft, and the
L fhip
35^ marchand's voyage. [March 1791. |
Ihip was carried 4 miles on the former fide, and j;
18.5 on the latter. I
But, from the i 2th to the 15th, their efreft is |'
nearly null in the direction of the longitude, and :
their adion only carries the fhip 23 miles to the '
northward. j
The Solide, on thefe laft-mentioned days, and |!
for fome time pall, was failing at a diftance from |j
the land which did not exceed ico leagues; fhe !j
muft have experienced all the variations of the j^i
current that depend on the winds which reigned [
or on thofe which are reigning, and on the adion \\
of the tides, combined with that of the particular |]
currents of the coafts : for it is well known that, |l
in the vicinity of lands, and efpecially of great fi
continents, the currents vary infinitely in their li
velocity and direélion ; that thofe which are pro- j i
duced by the winds change their diredion with
them, without in other refpeds changing their ex- i
tent and velocity ; and that, in Ihort, currents arc
metf with fetting in a contrary diredion, which are
occafioned by the horizontal ofcillations of the .
open fea in the flux and reflux.
NOTE XIV.
From the 15th to the 22nd of March, the ob-
fervations of latitude fliewed that the fhip was daily
carried to the northward : the fum of thefe move-
ments, contrary to the apparent courfe, amounted
to
Mardi 1791.] marchand's VOYAGE. 253
to 1° 1 2' on the 2 ad at noon, that is to fay, after
an interval of feven days : during the laft three days,
the movement had been 19, 21, and 12 minutes in
twenty-four hours j but, on the 23d, it was dif-
covered that, from noon of the day before, the cur-
rents had ceafed to fet to the northward^ and that,
on the contrary, they had fet 12 minutes to the
fou th ward.
It was expelled that, fmce the tendency of the
currents had, in general, been to the northward
with a rather confiderable degree of velocity, they
would have fet at the fame time to the caftward ;
and the refult of the obfervations for the longi-
tude which were made on the 23d at twenty-eight
minutes paft feven o'clock in the morning (a fet
of diftances obferved from the moon to a, of Jquila,)
confirmed what had been prejudged from the ex-
perience of the run.
On comparing the refult of the 23d to that
of the 15th of the fame month, it will be found
that, in the interval of eight days, the progrefs
, towards the weft was 4® 29' j but, according to the
dead reckoning, it ought to have been 5° 43^ :
thus the lliip had been carried to the eaftward by
the fetting of the currents, 1° 14', or 58.4 miles.
It has been feen that, in the fame interval, flie
had been carried by the fame a6lion, i degree,
or 60 miles to the northward, deducing the 12
minutes which fhe had been carried to the fouth-
ward on the laft day of the period,
VOL. Ju A A Thus
354 MARCHANd's VOYAGE. [March 1791,
Thus the velocity of the movement which the
current had impreffed on the fhip was 83.75 ^^^^s
in eight days, in the direûion of north 44*^ 15' weft,
and her mean drift in tweny-four hours, 10.4
miles,
NOTE XV.
Four fets of diftances of the fun and moon, ob-
ferved on the 25th at thirty-four minutes paft
eight o'clock in the morning, gave for the longi-
tude at noon, 63° 23' : and as that of the 23d was
62* 15', the progrefs towards the weft, in two days,
had been i"* 8'.
That which was indicated by the refult of the
dead reckoning, for the fame interval, was only
1 8 minutes: thus the unpcrceived movement of
the fhip towards the weft had been 50 minutes or
36 miles.
According to the obfervations of latitude, the
fhip had been carried, during the fame time, ir
minutes, or 11 miles to the northward.
Thus the compound effed of the current had
caufed the fhip to make 37 miles in the direction
of weft if 15' north, at the mean rate of 18.5
miles in twenty-four hours.
NOTE XVI.
By two fets of diftances of the fun and moôtt
on the 27th at 9^ 1^40" A. M. and the' refiilf^
March 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE, 355
which was reduced to noon, it was found that,
from noon of the 25th, the Ihip's progrefs towards
the weft had been i° 25'.
According to the dead reckoning, it ought to
be 2® 11': thus, the currents had carried her 46
minutes, or 82.2 miles to the eaftward.
The progrefs in latitude towards the fouth was
greater according to the obfervation than accord-
ing to the dead reckoning, by 2 minutes or 2
miles.
The effed of the current is therefore reprefented
by 32.3 miles in the diredion of eaft 3° 30' fouth j
and the mean drift of the fhip, in that diredioni
v Was 1 6.1 miles in twenty-four hours.
NOTE XVII.
The refult of four fets of diftances from the
^moon to the fun, and of one fet from th^ moon
to Ant ares y obferved on the 28 th and reduced to
rnoon, fhewed that, from the 27th to the 28th,
? the progrefs towards the weft had been 20 minutes :
I f it therefore was 24 minutes according to the d ead
jTeckoning; thus the difference was only 4 minutes
^ or 2.5 miles.
The progrefs towards the fouth was fmaller
.-• according to the obfervation than according to the
reckoning by 5 minutes or 5 miles.
Thefe differences are too fmall for us to be able
thence to draw any conclufion relatively to the
A A 2 cfFeft
33^ marchand's voyage. [March 1791,
efFed of the currents : the refult of the calculation
merely indicates an unperceived movement in
twenry-four hours of 5.6 miks to the north 26° 30^
eafl*
NOTE xvm.
On reducing to noon of the 30th the refult of
four fets of diftances of the moon from the fun,
and of one fet from the moon to Antares, obferved
that fame day, it was found that, fince noon of
the 28th the progrefs towards the weft had been
2^ 33'; and that indicated by the dead reckoning
was the fame.
But the progrefs towards the fouth, in the ifi-
terv^al of the two days was greater according "to
the obfervations than according to the dead reck-
oning, by 22 minutes, or 22 miles.
It thence refults that the fhip had been carried
22 miles in two days, or 1 1 miles rn twenty-foiir
hours.
It is feen that, from the 23d the fetting of the
currents and their elieci: on the fhip's courfe, no
longer indicate the fame diredions as thofe which
had been remarked in the early part of the run,
after the fhip had reached the latitude of 5® fouth.
But the irregularities which are obferved at prefent
will no longer occafion furprife, ifswe confider the
difpofition of the lands to the eaftward of which
the Solide recently failed : they here form a long
gulf, at the Southern extremity of which is fi tuated
the
March 1791.] marchand's voyage.
3<57
the Strait of Magellan ; and to the eaftward
of this ftrait lies the archipelago of Falkland's
Iflands which forms with the* coafr of the contiiient
a channel eighty leagues in width. Since the 17th
of the month, the ihip had reached the 60th oieri-
dian weft, and, on that very day, had begun to
ftrike foundings in feventy fathoms : having arrived
at this longitude, flie failed at too fmall a diftance
from the land, for her to feel the general effect
of the currents which a6t in the open fea > and fhe
mult have experienced the irregularities, the va-
riations of thofe which the ofcillations of the fea
impelled horizontally by the alternate motion of
the flux and reflux, the little depth of the waters,
the inequalities of the bottom, as well as the dif-
pofltion and configuration of the lands, mufl: ne-
ceflarily produce in a trad of fea where fo many
caufes of irregularity, which may either a6l fepa-
rately or combine their efl^eds^, are thus united.
NOTE XIX,
It had been obferved that, from the 28th, the
currents fet to the Eaftward at the fame time that
they fet to the Southward: and the obfervations
of the 30th having fliewn that this tendency to
the fouthward continued, it was judged that that
which the waters had at the fame time kept to the
eafl:ward might probably not ceafe while the (hip
was croffing the parallel of the mouth of the
A A3 Strait
35^ MARCH and's voyage. [March 1791.
Strait of Magellan : it was, in confequence,
decided, that, in the dead reckoning till fhe came
within fight of Staten Land which Captain
Marchand intended to make, 15 minutes per
day fhould be allowed for the effed of the currents,
that is, that 1 5 minutes fhould be deducted from
the daily progrefs to the v/eftward which the calcu-
lations of the ihip's run might appear to indicate.
On the I ft of April, at noon, Staten Land' was
difcovered from the tops ; but it was not till four
o'clock in the afternoon that Captain Marchand
very plainly diftinguifhed Cape San Juan, the
moft eaftern point of that land, which bore fouth
I or 2° weft, at the diftance of thirteen or fourteen
leagues eftimated by the eye.
On adopting the longitude of that cape, fuch as
it was determined in Captain Cook's fécond voy-
age*, 296° 13' eaft from Greenwich, or 66° 7'
15'^ weft from Paris, that of the fliip, according
to the bearings, ftiould not differ from it in a
quantity to which it is neceffary to pay attention ;
and we may confider the Solide as being, at four
o'clock, under the very meridian of Cape San
Juan.
From noon on the 30th of March till four
o'clock on the ift of April, the progrefs in lon-
^ See The original Aflronomical Ohfer<vaitons made tn the
edur/r of a Voyage ionvards the South Pole and round the World^
Uc» hj W. Wales, London, 1777, 4(0. page 329.
gitude.
April 1791.] marchand's voyage.
259
gitude, fuch as it was indicated by the dead reck-
oning, uncorredled, was 43 minutes towards the
eaft ; and by deducting that quantity from 67® 41',
the longitude by obfervation of the 30th at noon,
that of the ift of April at four o*clock was 66° 58^
but it ought to have been only 66"* 7' 15'': thus
the error on making the land was 50! minutes
abeady or about 10 leagues on the parallel which
the fliip had reached.
But if, regard being had, as was the cafe, to
^he corredlion relative to the effed of the currents,
which the experience of the preceding days had
indicated, we add 15 minutes for every twenty-
four hours, that is, 30 minutes, from the 30th of
March to the ift of April, to the progrcfs towards
the eaft which the dead reckoning indicated, we
fliall have 13' to dedudt from the longitude by
obfervation of the 30th at noon ; and that of the
jft of April, at four o'clock, will be 66° 28^
Thus the error of this determination, compared
with the longitude of Cape San Juan, is only 20|
minutes, or about 4 leagues : and, indeed, Staten
Land was perceived at noon on the firft of April,
at the moment when the dead reckoning, cor-
rected and deduced from the longitude by obfer-
vation of the 30th of March, announced that it
ought to be difcerned.
If, in order to afcertain the efFedt of the cur-
rents in the interval from the 30th of March to
the ift of April, we compare the longitude by
A A 4 obfervation
360 MARCHANd's VOYAGE. [April I79I.
obfervation of the 30th at noon, 67° 41', with ^
66° 8^ the longitude of the ift of April at noon,
according to the bearings of Cape San Juan,
taken at four o'clock 5 it will be feen that the pro-
grefs towards the eafl: was 1^33': and according
to the dead reckoning, it ought to have been
only 42 minutes : thus the fliip was carried, by
the currents, 57 minutes, or 30.8 miles to the
eaftward.
On comparing with each other the latitudes by
obfervation and thofe by account on thefe two
days, ^we find that the Ihip was carried to the
northward i minute from the 30th to the 31ft, and
from the 30th to the 31 ft, 11 minutes: in all 12
minutes.
Thus, in the interval of the two days, the
movement of the waters caufed the fhip to make
33.25 miles in the direélion of eaft 17° 30' north,
at the mean rate of 16.6 miles in twenty-four
hours.
It is feen that, from the 25th of March to the
I ft of April, between the parallels of 44 and 54
degrees, and between the 63rd and the 66th me-
ridian weft, the diredion of the currents was con-
fiant towards the eaft, declining fometimes towards
the fouth, fometimes towards the north. If we
wifti to comprize in a fingle calculation this whole
period, in order to know what was, pending its
durati^ n, the mean cfft6l of the currents on the
ihip's courfc ^ it will be found that flie was carried,
in
April 1791.] marchand's voyage.
361
in the interval of feven days, 7 miles to the fouth-
ward, and 65.5 to the eaftward : and on com-
bining thefe two elements, it will be feen that fhe
was carried 66 miles in the diredion of eaft 6° 15^
fouth, at a mean rate of 9I miles in twenty-four
hours.
The longitude by account, fuch as it was de-
duced from the calculation of the fhip's run from
La Praya, whence her departure was taken, on
the 1 8th of January, till fhe came within fight
of Staten Land, on the ifl: of April at noon,
was 66"^ 45': and if we thence dedud i minute
for the progrefs towards the eaft from noon till
four o'clock on this latter day, we fliail have 66^
44' for the longitude by account at the moment
of taking the bearings, which placed the fhip
under the meridian of Cape San Juan, and con-
fequently in 66° 7'. Thus the dead reckoning,
at the time of making the land, was in error only
37 minutes, or about 7 leagues ahead. But the
following Table will Ihew that this exadnefs is
not a proof that the (hip's courfe and diftance
run were well calculated in the courfe of the run ;
it is folely due to compenfations, by means of
which, by a fortunate chance, great errors in one
diredion were done away by equal errors in an
pppofite direftion.
After
3^^^ marchand's voyage. [April ly^t»
After having dedudled from the fum of the
differences ^lus^ or in excefs, which is 7° 6\ that
of the differences minus, or in defcd, 6° the
error of the dead reckoning on making the land
is reduced, by the chance and effed of com-
perifations to 37 minutes in excefs, or ahead of
the ihip.
But the fum of the errors, in the one diredion
or in the other, was 13*^ 35^ in the courfe of a,
run of fevenry-three days. A time-piece or chro-
nometer, fuch as thofe which are at this day to
be procured in France, v/ould not have left, at
the clofe of this period, an uncertainty of a quarter
of a degree refpeâ:ing the longitude which it would
have indicated : and in all cafes, the error that
may be apprehended from the method of diftances
from the moon to the fun or ftars, commonly
called the lunar method, will not amount to half
a degree, if, in taking the obfervation, the na-
vigator make ufe of Bord a 's refleding circles.
I infifl, and lhall never ceafe to infift, on this
comparifon of the refult of the common methods
with that of the new : we cannot too frequently
repeat, that if, at the end of the eighteenth cen-
tury> when men of fciencc and artifts have em-
ployed themfelves, with fo .much fuccefs, con-
cerning the problem of the longitude at fea, fea-
men know not how to guard againft great errors
* See Vol. I. page 3, Note *.
in
.79-
January
From the : 8
February
to the 6th
From the 6th to the yth
From the yth to the 8 th
From the 8th to the 9th
From the 9th to the 12th
From the 1 2 th to the 1 5 th
From the i jth to the 1 6th
From the i6th to the 25th
From the 25th to the 26th
From the 26th
March
to the 8th
From the 8 th to the loth
From the loth to the nth
From the nth to the 12th
From the 12th to the 15 th
From the 15th to the 23d
From the 2 5dto the 2jth
From the 2 5th to the 27th
From the 27 th to the 28 th
From the 2 8 th to the 30th
From the 30th
April
to the ift
h
i
f
t
Son -îr^v^-ff^^jf ÏT-j on^ 01 «3 ^^jcJ^c:!. »vo S,-!î Jq 0
1 [ .
f
w NOw'-'-f^'-ONK-^O Oi-iNN-OO W 0
in Uie interval
Obfervations,
according to
Observation.
Progrefs in
Loiigitude
w ^.^^.^.^.^.^.^^.^ ^^^^^^^^ ^
i
in tlte interval
of the
Obfervations,
accords, to the
Dead
0 OOOOwOOOOtn Oi-iOOOOOO >-* -0
J. ■ r ?°v^ r r p ^ ^
>
o
n
o
>
o
April 1791»] marchand's voyage, 363
in their route, it is neither Science nor Art that
we muft blame, but the unpardonable indifference
of thofe who are cither ignorant of them, or call
them in queftion.
THIRD
3^4
marcmand's voyage. [Aprii 1791,
THIRD RUN
From 8TATEN LAND to the IJlands called
LAS MARIES AS de MENBOÇA.
On the ift of April, at noon, the Soi. i de took
her departure from within fight of StatenLand,
in latitude 53° 56' fouth, and longitude 66° 8^
weft.
NOTE XX,
On comparing to the longitude of the place
whence the departure was taken that of the nth at
noon, fuch as it was deduced from two fets of
diftances of the fun and moon, obferved at four
o'clock in the afternoon, that is to fay, on com-
paring 77^ 2 fi^^ the
interval of ten days, the fliip's progrefs towards
the weft, was, according to the obfervations,
55'
But on failing from the fame longitude of the
point whence the departure was taken, the fum of
the ftiip's daily progrefs towards the weft, calcu-
lated according to the dead reckoning, gives for
the total progrefs, 13*^ i' : thus the ftiip was car-
ried to the eaftward, and her perceived progrefs
towards the weft, diminiftied, 2^ 6', or 68.6
miles.
At
April 1791.] marChand's voyage. 365
At the fame time flie was carried to the north-
ward, beyond the progrefs by account towards
that lame fide, 28 minutes^ or 28 miles.
The movement of the waters therefore caufed
her to make, in ten days, 73.5 miles to the eaft
22° 30' north, at the mean rate of 71 miles in
twenty-four hours.
In' the interval from the ift to the nth of
Aprih the fliip had doubled Gape Horn without
going in fight of it, after having got nearly as
high as the parallel of 60°.
NOTE XXL
The refult of the obfervations for the longitude
made on the 19th (a fet of diilances from the
moon to Spca Virginis )^ reduced to noon of that
day, and compared to the longitude on the nth
at noon^ gives for the fhip's progrefs towards
the weft, in the interval from the nth to the 19th
16° 16'; and that which w^as deduced from the
dead reckoning, being only 14° f the difference
of thefe two progrefles, 9', or 71^ miles, is the
quantity which the currents had carried the fnip
towards the weil beyond her perceived move-
m.ent.
The comparifon of the latitudes obfcrved with
thofe which were deduced from the dead reckon-
ing, proved that, in the fun e fp ace of time, the
Ihip was carried to the fouthward, and the pro-
366 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE» [April 179!,
grefs by account towards the north diminiflied
1° io\ or 80 miles: and of this quantity, 36
minutes belong to the interval from the iith to
the i8th, and 40, to that from the i6th to the
i8th.
The direftion imprefled on the fhip by the
current was therefore fouth 41^ 45' weft, and the
diftance run in that diredion was 107 J miles;
which gives a mean rate of 13.4 miles in twenty-
four hours.
We here find again the fetting of the currents
the fame as it was obferved in the South At-
lantic Ocean, when the fhip failed at a fufE-
ciently great diftance from the land not to feel the
adion of the currents of the coaft, or of acci-
dental currents: v/e fee that, from the ift to
the iith of April, at the fame time that they fet
to the Eaftwardy they alfo fet to the Northward ;
and that, from the nth to the 19th, when they fet
to the ÎVeftwardy they at the fame time fet to the
Southward.
It may be remarked that, from the ift to the
nth of April, the ftiip's progrefs by account to-
wards the weft had been too great by 2° 6', and
that from the nth to the 19th it is too Jmall by
2^9': it refults from this compenfation that the
longitude by account, deduced from that of Cape
San Juan in Staten Land, was, on the nth,
in error 2° 9' towards the Weft ; and that, on the
ï9th, it was in error 3 minutes towards the Eaft-:
thus
April 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
3^7
thus the chance of compenfations brought the lon-
gitude by account to agree, very nearîy, with that
which was deduced from the obfervations.
NOTE XXII.
Two fets of diftances of the fun and moon,
obferved on the 24th at thirty-five minutes after
eight in the morning, gave for the longitude of
that day at noon, 9 5° 1 8'.
Two other fets obferved tht next day, at twenty-
three minutes pad nine o'clock in the mornings
gave for the longitude of the 25 th, at noon^
96° 9'.
It refults from thefe obfervations, that the fhip's
progrefs towards the weft had been 0° 5/ in the
twenty-four hoursj and, according to the dead,
reckoning, this progrefs appeared to be only 5
minutes.
If, from the 19th to the 25th, the iatkudes
obferved be compared with thofe which were de-
duced from the calculation of the courfes which
deviated little from the direftion of north for a
diftance of 128 leagues in latitude, it will be
remarked, that, with the exception of the interval
from the 20th to the 23d, during which the fliip
was driven back to the fouthward, 17 minutes
in three days, or 5^ minutes in twenty-four hours,
the difference between the refult of the dead reck-
oning and chat of the obfervation>. in all the other
I days
368 MARGHAND-S. VOYAGE. [April 179!,
days of the period, was almoft nothing ; and it
may be concluded that the currents, if anyexifted,
a6led but with little ftrength, and only in the in-
terval from the 20th to the 23d : it may there-
fore be admitted too that, in that from the 24th'
to the 25th, when the difference between the
latitude by account and the latitude by obferva-
tion is only i minute, the currents, aded no more
towards the eaft or towards the weft, than towards
the north or towards the fouth ; and we are autho-
rized to conflder the progrefs by account of 5
minutes in longitude towards the weft as nearly
exa6l, and that of 51 minutes which the obfer-
vations indicated, as much too great. But as it
is not poffible to difcover whether the error be-
longs wholly to one of the obfervations, or whether
both participated in it, we deem it expedient to
take a mean between the re fuit of the 24th and
that of the 25th, admitting as exad the progrefs
by account in longitude in the interval of the two
days.
Thus, the longitude by obfervation of the 24th
is 95° 18', add to it the progrefs by account, 5
minutes, you will have, for the 25th, a firft longi-
tude deduced from the longitude obferved of the
I24th, and it will be 95° 23' : take a mean between
the latter and that given by the obfervations of
the 25th, 96° 9^ you will have for the latter day,
a corre6ted and mean longitude which will be
, 6 ^ Now,
April 17^1 •] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. 369
Now, if we compare this laft-mentioned lon-
gitude with that deduced from the obfervations
of the 19th at noon, we fliall find that, in the
interval from the 19th to the 25th, in fix days,
the progrefs towards the weft had been 2® 27' :
and if we compare with each other the determi-
nations of the dead reckoning for" the fame days,
we fee that it indicates a progrefs of 2^ 26' in
the fame dire<5lion : the difference therefore is only
I minute, or tvyo-thirds of a mile on the fide of
the dead reckoning : thus, it does not appear that,
in the interval of thefe fix days, the fliip ex-
perienced, from the currents, a perceptible de«
rangement in the diredion of the longitude ; but,
in the fame fpace of time, flie was carried 17
minutes, or 1 7 miles to the fouthward ; which in-
dicates, for the direftioh of the current, fouth 2^
15' weft, and for its efFed on the Ihip in that di-
reftion, 17.02 miles or 2.84 miles a day.
The longitude by account, deduced from that
of Cape San Juan in Staten Land, continues,
as is feen in the Journal of the Route, to
agree, within 4 minutes, with that which refulted
from the obfervations ; but it is well known that
this agreement is the efitft of the fortunate com-
penfation that took place, between the error of the
former period, from the ift to the iith of April,
and that which occurred in an oppofite diredion,
in the latter, from the iith to the 19th of the fame
month.
VOL. It, B B NOT
marchand's voyage* [May 1791.
NOTE XXIIL
Obfervatlons made on the 8th of May, at forty-
eight minutes paft eight o'clock in the evening,,
and reduced to noon of that day, gave 96** 44' for
the longitude ; and other obfervations made on
the 9th at feven minutes after four in the afternoon,
and, in like manner, reduced to noon, gave 96°
55': thus, in the interval of twenty-four hours,
the fhip's progrefs in longitude was, according to
the obfervations, 11 minutes towards the weft.
That which was deduced from the dead reckon-
ing, for the fame interval, was, on the contrary^^
3 minutes towards the caft.
As the progrefs in latitude according to the
dead reckoning had differed only by 3 or 4 mi-
nutes, from the progrefs by obfervation from the
7th to the 8th, and from the 8th to the 9th, it was
prefumed that the a6lion of the currents had been
fcarcely perceptible in the laft two days of this pe* |
riod, and the progrefs by account of 3 minutes I
towards the eaft in the interval from the 8th to the |
9th was admitted. |
On applying this progrefs by account to the |
longitude by obfervation of the 8th at noon, which jp
was the mean reluit of fix fets of diftances of the j|
lun and moon, a frefh refult, which was 96^ 41', |
was had for the longitude of the 9th at noon : |
then taking a mean between the latter and that ||
of 96^5^;' given by the obfervations of the 9th !
for
May 1791.] MARCHAND*S VOYAGE.' 37 1
for noon of that fame day, we have 96^ 48', a mean
refult which partakes of the obfervations of the
8th and thofe of the 9th*
Now, if, by a proceeding fimilar to that which
we have juft employed, we compare this latter
refult with the longitude of the 25th of April,
95° 46', we fliall find that, from the 25th of April
to the 9th of May, the Ihip advanced towards the
weft, 1° 2^ But, according to the dead reck-
oning, this progrefs ought to be 3*^ o': the error
of the reckoning was therefore, in fourteen days,
I® 58', or 93 mr.es ahead^ that is to fay that, in
this interval, the fhip had been carried this latter
quantity towards the eaft : and as the comparifon
of the latitudes by obfervation and thofe by ac-
count, announced that, during the fame time, flie
had been carried to the northward a quarter of
a degree, or 15 miles, it thence refults that the
current which had driven the fhip from her appa-
rent courfe, caufed her to make 95^ miles in the
direction of eaft (f 15' north, at the mean rate of
6.8 miles in twenty-four hours.
NOTE XXIV.
Two fets of diftances of the fun and moon
obferved on the 12th at twenty minutes paft three
o'clock in the afternoon, and two fets of dif-
tances from the moon to Sfica Virginis^ obferved
on the evening of the fame day, both reduced
B B 2 to
3/2 MARCH AN d's VOYAGE. [May 1791,
to noon, gave, by a mean, 98° 51' for the lon-
gitude.
On comparing it to that of the 9th at noon, 96*
48', we find 2® 3' progrefs towards the weft. The
progrcfs by account towards the fame fide, in the
fanie interval, is i*' 55'; the différence which is
only 8 minutes, or 7 miles, would indicate that
the fliip was driven that quantity towards the weft
beyond her apparent run : and as the obfervations
of latitude prove that flie was, at the fame time,
carried 10 minutes or 10 miles to the fouthward;^
it may be concluded that the efFeâ: of the currents
was i2| miles to the fouth 34** 45' weft, and 4 miles
in twenty- four hours.
NOTE XXV.
On the 23d, a mean between the refults of
fix fets of diftances of the fun and moon, obfcrvcd
at thirty-one minutes paft eight in the morning,
gave for the longitude at noon, in** 56': that of
the 1 2th at noon, was 98^ 51': thus, in the interval
of eleven days, the progrefs towards the weft, w^s
according to the obfervations, 13** 5'.
According to the dead reckoning, it was only
9* 53': thus the fliip had been carried to the
weftward 3^ 12^5 and the error of the reckoning
aftern^ had been this quantity, or 173 miles, in the
interval of eleven days.
If
May 1791.] marchand's voyage.
373
If we compare the latitudes obferved every day
with thofe indicated by the dead reckoning, wc
fliall find that, in the fame fpace of time, the
fliip was carried by the movement of the waters^,
52 minutes, or 52 miles, to the fouttiward.
On combining the 173 miles Welling with the
52 miles Southing, it will be feen that the efFedt
of the current on the fliip's courfe was 180.5 miles,
or 6o| leagues, in the diredlion of weft 16^ 45'
fouth ; and the mean drift 16.4 miles, or about 5^
leagues, in twenty-four hours,
NOTE XXVI.
If we wifh to make, for the following days,
the 24th, 25th, 26th, and 27th, when fets of
diftances of the moon from the fun or ftars were
obferved, the fame calculations which we made for
the 23d, the following refults will be found,
ÎAccordingtotheOb--. The Ihip was
fervationsi°45'W./ carried to the
According to the D. Ï weftward in 24
- reckoning 1° 17' W. 3 hours. . . 28'.
According to the obfervations of latitude
fhe was carried to the fouth ward o** 10'
From the r -^^^^^^^"g ^ —
24th to) ^^^^^^^^"s ^^ï^'W. f Carried to the
the 2 tj^i-^^^^^^^^S ^* Ç w^^^^^^
^ reckoning 1° 00' W.
According to the obfervations of latitude
To the fouthward o** 14^
B B 3 From
374 warchand's voyage. [May 1791.
From the r^^'^^'^'^g'^^^^^^-;)
î25thto3 ^^^^^t^o"so''4i'W. f Carried to the
the 26th / ^^^^^^^^ë the D. t weftward . . 6'
^ reckoning 0° 35 'W.-^
According to the obfervations of latitude
To the northward o'' 2^'
From the f^^'^^^^^g^^^'^^^b.^
26th to 3 ^^rvatio^^so" 56' W. f Carried to the
the 27th /'^^^^^^^"^^^^^^^'('^^^^^^^•-
^ reckoning 48' W.-^
According to the obfervations of latitude
To the fouthward o'' 4'
The fum of the quantities which the fhip ad-
vanced towards the weft beyond the progrefs by
account, from the 23d to the 27th, was 0° 58^ or
54 milès, and that which fhe was carried to the
fouthward 26 minutes, or 26 miles: on combining
thefe two fums, we find that the aélion of the cur-
rent carried the ftiip, in the interval of four days,
59 miles, to the weft 23° 30' fouth ; this is, at
the rate of 14.75 n^il^s, or about five leagues in
twenty-four hours.
If it be wiftied to embrace a longer period,
that from the 12th to the 27th, it will be found
that, in the interval of thefe fifteen days, the fiiip
was carried to the weftward, beyond her apparent
progrefs, 4° 10' or 228 miles; and to the fouth-
ward;, 1° X 8' or 78 miles: and on combining thefe
two
May 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. 275
two quantities, we find that the error of the courfe
was 242 miles or 8ot leagues, to the weft 45'
fouth 3 which indicates a mean efFeft of the adlion
of the currents in that direélion, of about 16 miles
in twenty-four hours.
It is feen, that from the 9th to the 27th, be-
tween the parallels of 30® and 19° 30' fouth, the
currents carried the Ihip conftantly to the fouth-
ward, at a rate which varied from 4 to 16 miles
in twenty-four hours ; and it will be recolleéled
that, in the South Atlantic Ocean, between
the fame parallels, we had found the fame diredtion
in the currents and a velocity which had varied
from 10 to 18 miles a day.
It has been feen (Note XXII) that the lon-
gitude by account from the time of the ftiip being
in fight of Staten Land, according to the cal-
culation of her run, had, on the 25th of April,
drawn near the longitude by obfervation, and,
through the efitft of compenfations, differed from
it no more than 4 minutes aft em , from the 25th
of April to the 9th of May (Note XX III) the
error of the reckoning had been i"^ 58' dhead^ the
longitude by account was at this latter period, f
ahead \ but the error having been 8 minutes
aftern from the 9th to the 12th of May (Note
XXIV) ; 3° 11 y from the 12th to the 23rd (Note
XXV) y and 58 minutes, from the 23rd to the
27th; thefe accumulated errors in the fame direc-
tion, deducing 1° 54' ahead , produce, on the laft
B B 4 daVî
37^ marchand's voyage. [June 1791;
day, a total error of 2' 24' ajlern in the longitude
by account,
NOTE XXVII.
On the 6th of June, the mean between the
tncan refults of four fets of diftances obferved
from the moon to the fun, and two fets of diftances
from the moon to Spica Virginisy reduced to noon
of the fame day, gave for the longitude of the
jhip, at that moment, 127® 10': and on comparing
it with that which had been deduced from the
obfervations of the 27th of May, it is feen that
the fliip's progrefs towards the weft, had been 10®
36'. That which was indicated by the dead reck-
oning, for the fame interval, was 10^ 23': thus
the difference was only 13 minutes, or 12.5 miles,
which the fliip appeared to have been carried to
the weftward beyond the progrefs by account.
On examining the ftiip's daily progrefs towards
the north, according to the dead reckoning, and
the progrefs according to the obfervations, we find
that the fum of the former is equal to the fum of
the latter:" the differences in the one direction and
in the other are exaâily counterbalanced.
We may therefore conclude that, from the 27th
of May to the 6th of June, the currents effeéled
no perceptible change either in the ftiip's apparent
courfe or rate of failing: for the 13 minutes, or
12.5 miles, difference towards the weft, might pro-
ceed
June 1791.] marchand's voyage. 37y
ceed from the obfervatîons as well as from the
dead reckoning.
The fame agreement between the refults of the
obfervations and the calculations of the reckoning
continued for the two following days.
From the 6th to the 7th, the ftiip's progrefs
towards the weft, according to the obfervations
was 15' 3 and 2° 14', according to the dead
reckoning.
From the 7th to the 8th, 43' according to
the obfervations, and i'^ 52' according to the dead
reckoning : the difference therefore is only 9 mi-
nutes, but in a contrary direftion to thofe of the
preceding days.
The progrefs in latitude deduced from obferva*
tion, and compared with that given by the dead
reckoning Ihews that the apparent progrefs of the
fliip, in this diredion, differed little from her real
progrefs : from the 6th to the 7th, the dead reck-
oning gives 3 minutes lefs towards the fouth than
the obfervation, and i minute only from the 7th
to the 8th.
It therefore appears that, in the interval of thcic
laft two days, the fhip experienced no cfFeft from
the currents.
NOTE XXVIIL
The aaion of the currents was again felt from
the 8th to the loth*
I Eight
37^ marchand's voyage. [June 1791.
Eight fets of diftances of the fun and moon
obferved on the loth two fets of diftances from
the moon to ReguluSy and two others from the
moon to AntareSy gave, by a mean between the
three mean refults, for the longitude of the fhip,
reduced to noon of that fame day, 135** 52'^ and
on comparing it with that of the 8th, we find that,
in the interval of the two days, the Ihip's pro-
grefs towards the weft was, according to the ob-
fervation, 4** 44' : it is only 3** 5/, according to
the dead reckoning : thus, the fhip was carried 53
minutes, or about 52 miles, to the weft ward.
From the 8th to the loth, according to the
obfervations of latitude, the fhip was carried 7
minutes, or 7 miles to the fouthward: thus the
current had caufed her to make an imperceptible
drift of 52 J miles to the weft, 7 or 8** fouth, or 26^
miles in twenty-four hours in that direftion.
NOTE XXÎX.
The obfervation of latitude of the nth proved
that, in the twenty-four hours which preceded
the noon of that day, the adion of the currents
had again carried the ftiip 10 minutes to the fouth-
ward. It had been almoft conftantly found in
crofTmg the Great Ocean, that, when they fet
towards the Southy they alfo fet towards the Wejly
and in a more confiderable quantity : and as our
navigators, the next day, expected to difcover the
I (lands
June 1791.] marchand's voyage. ^79
Iflands called Las Marquesas de Mendoça,
they judged it expedient to add to the daily pro-
grefs in longitude which the dead reckoning in-
dicated towards the weft, from the time cf the
obfervations of the loth till they made the land,
the quantity of 26 minutes in twenty-four hours,
in order to compenfate for the effect of the cur-
rents which they fuppofed muft drive the fhip
towards that fide, in the fame proportion as they
had carried her thither on the preceding days at
the fame time that they carried her to the fouth-
ward.
On calculating the run according to this fup-
pofition, they expe6led to difcover the Mendoça
Iflands towards noon of the 12th, and, in faâ:,
at half paft ten in the morning of that day,
they began to perceive the Ifland of La Ma da-
LENA, the moft eaftern and moft fouthern of the
group.
At noon, it bore fouth-weft^ and the Mand of
San Pedro bore diredly weft at the diftance of
fourteen leagues eftimated by the eye.
The longitude of this laft-mentioned ifland, .
determined by the obfervations made in Captain
Cook's fécond voyage*, is 221*^ 9' eaft from
Greenwich, or 141® 11' 15" weft from Paris.
If we take from this quantity 42 minutes, which
* See the Original Aftronomical Obfern^atiom made In a
^voyage i9<wards the South Fokj Sec* Page ^2$*
arc
380 MARCHANDAS VOYAÔE. [June 1791. j
are equivalent to the diftance of 14 leagues efti-
mated at the time of taking the bearing, we fhall
have 140° 29' 15" for the longitude of the fliip
which was exadlly on the parallel of the ifland:
on adding to the refult of the obfervations of
the loth the progrefs by account towards the
weft fince that period, 4"" 23' {f 21', according
to the dead reckoning, plus 52 minutes for the
cffed of the current) it will be found that the
prefumed longitude on making the land was only
140^ 15': the error of this determination was
therefore i4J minutes, which anfwer to no more
than 4Î leagues ; but, according to the calculation
of the fhip's apparent courfe and diftance, paying
no regard to the forefeen effedl of a current towards
the weft, the progrefs towards that fide would,
from the jpth to the 12th, have been only 3^ 31';
and on adding it to the longitude of the loth, it
would have made only 139^ 23': thus the error
would have been 6^15" or 2ii: leagues.
In regard to the latitude of San Pedro, the ob-
fervations of Captain Cook's voyage give for it
j^** 59': and this is exadly the fame as that which
was obferved on board the Solide.
Let us fee what was the error of the dead reck-
oning in the interval of the laft two days.
On comparing the longitude obferved on the
loth with that of the fliip at the time of making
the land on the 12th, that is, 135° 52' with 140'*
29', it is feen that the real progrefs towards the
weft
June 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. 381
weft was 4*' 37'; but, according to the dead reck-
! oning, it was only 3° 31': thus, in two days, the
currents carried the fliip towards the weft i** 6', or
65 miles.
\- ' The compound and unexperienced movement
was therefore 67.25 miles to the weft fouth, and
; 331 miles in twenty-four hours.
i Let us examine at prefcnt what would have
I been the error of the dead reckoning on making
! the land of the Mendoça Iflands, if, from the
time of her being in fight of Stat en Land, our
navigators had adhered to its refults, ançi had not
correfted them every day that the ftate of the
weather allowed of determining by obfervation the
longitude of the ftiip, and of afcertaining the er-
rors which the adlion of the currents, or any
other caufc, had introduced in the diredion which
: flie appeared to have followed and the diftance
j which Ihe feemcd to have run«
Periods
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
>t3 ^ |Tj
3 3 5 3
3 3 3 3
<^ n> rî ^
O O S 5 ^
9* CL CL
^ „ n> o> a»
^» O oo^ On
r+ rt r-r
ti- tî- !3- tr
^3?J ^rj hrj "tr^
>-t "-I i-t >-t "-t "-t "is
O O O O O O O
3 3 3 3 3 3 3
O) O) o n n n
^ ^ B- 3- 3- ^ ^
o o o o o o
^Tj ITT^ ItJ
3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3
«-»■ r-f <-t r+
î3- tr !3-
rB a> Q
O O
tr* tr* i3- tr" !3- rr 2*
o CD o fC C3*-
Isi N> ^» N> «
— i-t r-^ r-t- r^- rf
^ y y ■rr !3-
o
S n» n> ^4
N> .-I o
|-^ i-t
tr Sr- cr- ï:Î>
0 H*"-"!-. w^itJhitJlvitK» ^i^V^V^V-r,^
Latitude
by
Obfervation
South.
o 1 ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ '
^vO 00^ O -f»- 00-^ -> 0\ <-( CO OsOv**OOS*-
O r
•s; S 0
? S ^ Ë
4^ Ov» a> 0\ <- ON*-a Oi v-a ^
^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^
Progrefs in
Longitude in
the interval of
the Obferva-
tions accord^ to
Observation.
h-i to -t^ <^ oo^ O ^ 04 v-a O H* ^
^^^^4 ^^^^^^^ :^
Progrels in
Longitude in
the interval of
the Obferva-
tions accord^.
Reckoning.
i I + I I
o o o o
I I I ! U +
o o o o u» o »^
Ml N» *-i ^
OC On ON OO N 00 oo
I I 4-
O N (4
»-< On
< TO i-t p O
o
cr
c?
M
O P
>
><
CO
c"
erval
■ the
Sum of the errors towards the Eaft. .
, 8° 41'
Sum of the errors towards the Weft. .
.4 15
Remainder in error towards the Eaft or afiem
after the compenfation .«•.,.,....,.....•«. 4 28
]
Jane 1791.] marchand's voyage* 2B3
It ÎS feen that the fum of the errors of the dead
reckoning, towards the one fide or towards the
other, in the fpace of feventy-three days, is 12*
54': and although fome fortunate compenfations
had taken place, the error at the time of making
the land is ftill 4"* 28', or 871 leagues to the eaft-
ward, that is, ajiern of the true pofition of the
fhip : now it is well known that an error aflern
is always dangerous, fince it is pofllble that a navi-
gator may fall in with the land in the night, while
he thinks himfelf ftill at a diftance from it.
NOTE XXX.
The obfervations made in Captain Cook's fécond
voyage have given the following determinations
for the Ifl^nds called Las Marquesas de
Mendoça :
Latitude South. Long, weft fromParis*
O é it O I u
Hood' s JJland 9 26 00 , ... 141 12 15;
San Pedro or O-Niteio. . 958 00 .... 141 1115
Santa Chrijiiana or JVahi-
tahoy at the Harbour
of La Madre de Bios,, . 9 55 30 .... 14 1 28 55
La Dominica orO-Hivahoa 9 40 371 ... 141 21 52I
Madakna lo 25 30 .... 141 09 1 5
No obfervations were made for determining
immediately the longitude of the harbour of La
Madre de Dios in the lOand of Santa Chris-
^ TINA,
marchand's voyage. [June 1791.
TINA, to which the others are fubjefted: but on
the days, whkh preceded, and on thofe which fol-
lowed the Resolution's arrival at this port, Mr.
Wales had taken feveral obfervations of the
inoon's diftance from the fun, and he reduced them
by calculation, and with the help of a chronometer
to the pofition of the harbour of La Mad re de
bios*.
The meridian altitudes of the fun which were
employed for determining the latitude of the fame
harbour, were taken on the 9th and loth of April
Î774 from a quickfilver horizon with a Hadley's
fextant, and by the back obfervation : they gave
for the latitude of La Madre de Dios, the former
9* 55' 15", and the latter 9° 55' 45"!.
* See The O^g'inal Ajironomical Ohfer'vatlons made in a
Voyagg towuards the South Pole, &c. Pages 322, 533 and 82.
The Longitudes are there reckoned from the Meridian of Green»
nvîch ; we have reduced them to that of Paris, admitting this
city to be fituated 2° 20' 1 5" to the Eafl ©f Greenwich,
f See 7'he Original Afironomical Obfervations made in a fvcy-m
age toivards the South Pole, page 8 1 ,
FOURTH
Jliné 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE,
FOURTH RUN,
Prom thé IJlands tailed LÂS MAR^ESÀS m
MENDOÇA to the NOMR-WES'T Coafi of
AMERICA.
Om the 20th of June, at eleven d'clock at night,
the Solide took her departure from the Harbour
of La Madre de Dïos, in 9"* 55' 30'' fouth la-
titude, and 141° 28' 55'' weft longitude.
KÔTË XXlL
On the 22d, in fight of Ile Marchand (Mar--
tHAND*s Ifland) the longitude of the fhip, reduced
to noon, was determined by fix fets of diftances
of the moon from the fun and two fets of the
moon from «> of Aquila at 142*^ 27' : thus the
progrefs in longitude towards the weft, fince the
departure taken from La Madre de Dlos, had
been 0^58'.
That given by the dead reckoning differed from
it only 3 minutes or 2.96 miles in excefs.
The latitude by account agreed with the latitude
by obfervation.
It may be concluded frotn the refult of thefe
Comparifons, that the currents which had fet with
a great velocity to the weft 18*^ 30' fouth, while
the ftiip was failing to the eaftward or to windward
Vai,. II, e c ©f
386
marcHx\nd's voyage. [Jiine 1791.
of the Mendcça Ifiands, had not been felt while
flie was {landing to the north- well or to leeward of
them.
NOTE XXXIL
Two fets of diftances of the fun and moon
gave for the longitude of the 24th at noon, 143°
io\ And on comparing it with that of the 22nd
it is feen that, in the fpace of two days, the fliip's,
progrefs towards the weft was 43'.
That which was indicated by the dead reckoning
was only o** 36^ : thus it would appear that in two
days, the fliip was carried to the weftward, 7 mi-
nutes or 6.9 miles.
According to the obfervations of latitude, flie
was carried, in the fame fpace of time, 6 minutes
or 6 miles to the fouthward.
The efîèét of the currents had therefore been
5.1 miles or 4.56 in twenty-four hours, to the weft
4° fouth.
NOTE XXXIII.
By the obfervations of the 25th, the longitude
of the fhip, at noon, was 143° 49'; and her pro-
grefs towards the weft had been, fince the 24th,
39 minutes.
It was only 21 minutes, according to the dead
reckoning : thus, in twenty four hours,, the fliip
had been carried 18 minutes or 17.8 miles to
the weft ward «
6 The
July 1791.] marchand's voyage. 387
The obfervation of latitude fliewed that, during
the fame time, flie had been carried 12 minutes
or 12 miles to the northward.
Thus her unperceived movement had been
21.5 miles to the weft 33° 45' north.
At this period our navigators had loft fight of
the Iles de la Révolution (the Revolution
Iflands), and were on a parallel more northerly
by about 2| degrees than the moft northern part
of the group.
NOTE XXXIV.
On the 20th of July, four fets of obfervations
of the moon's diftance from the fun gave, by a
mean, for the longitude of the ftiip reduced to
noon, 156° 2': and on comparing it with that of
the 25 th of June, we find that, in the fpace of
twenty-five days, the progrefs towards the weft
was 12° ij''.
According to the dead reckoning, the progrefs
|i in the fame interval had been only 10° 27' 5 and
|J thence it was concluded that the fhip was carried
1* 46', or 1 01. 2 miles to the weft ward.
. If we compare on each day the latitude de-
duced fi-om oblervation with that indicated by
the dead reckoning, it is feen that the adion of
the currents carried the ftiip almoft uninterrupt-
edly to the northward, except on the laft four
days of the period : the ftiip's imperceptible pro-
c c 2 grefs
38S MARCH and's voyage, [J^^^Y ^79 iy,
grefs towards that fide was frequently lo, it, 15^
and as much as 16 miles in twenty-four hours.
Their fum is 2® ij'': and if we thence deduét that
of fome accidental differences towards the fouth^
amounting to 19 minutes only, there remain i dcr
gree 54 minutes, or 114 miles, which the cur-
rents had carried the ftiip to the northward.
On combining the two movements, we find that,
in twenty-five days, the ftiip made, by a com-
pound and unperceived movement, 152.8 miles in
the diredlion of north 41® 43' weft ^ that is, that
her mean drift in that direftion was 6.1 miles in
twenty-four hours.
It appears therefore, that, in this latitude, con-
trary to what we had obferved in the South
Atlantic Ocean, and in the Great Austral
Ocean, the currents which fet to thf: Northward^
fct at the fame time to the Weftward,
It appears too, as may be feen In the Journ^aIt
OF THE Route 5 that errors fomewhat ccmfidera-
ble in the latitudes took place from the parallel
of 8"^ fouth, as far as beyond the Tropic of Can-
cer, between 142^ 30' and 152® 40' of weft lon-
gitude ; and that, in crofting this part of the
Torrid Zone, the waters, during a month, con-
ftantly fet to the northward and weft ward.
But the quantity of the error of the dead reck-
oning in Loth diredions, fuch as we have before
determined it, does not exadlly indicate the quan-
tity which the ftiip was carried to the wcftward,
5 nor
July 1791.] marchand's voyage. 389
nor that which (he was carried to the northward :
for it appears by Captain Chanaj/s Journal, that
being aftonillied at the conilant errors in latitude
which had been difcovered for fome time paft-,
and almofl: always on the fame fide, Captain Mar-
chand direded that the half-minute glafs, which
is employed in meafuring time while the log is
meafuring the ftiip*s way, ihould be carefully ex-
amined : on comparing it with a watch v/ith a
fécond hand, which was well regulated, it was
afcertained that the time which the fand took to
run out, was not exadlly thirty féconds, as in the
former part of the voyage, and that it was too
lliort by 2 or 3 féconds. It refulted from this
«rror of the glafs refpe61:ing the meafure of time,
that the (hip's way eftimated by means of the log,
•was fhorter than the way which fhe adually made,
by about a twelfth ; and that the (hip's courfe
being between the north and the weft, her pro-
grefs in latitude and longitude according to the
dead reckoning, ought to have been fmaller by
a twelfth than that which would have been found
if the fand-glafs had exadlly indicated the duration
pf thirty féconds.
• On applying to the calculations of the dead
■reckoning the correflion required by this acknow-
ledged error, we fhall have frefh refults.
According to the obfervations, the progrefs in
longitude, in the interval from the 25th of June
^0 the 20th of July, was i 1 3'. The error of
c c 3 t h e
39® marchand's voyage. [July 179t.
the dead reckoning in defe5i ought to have been
only a twelfth of this quantity, that is, I'^i': we
lhall find iti° 46^ therefore there remain ftill 45
minutes in defe5ty which may be attributed to the
a6i:ion of the currents that fet the fliip to the weft-
ward.
If we examine the error in latitude during the
fame period, we fliall find that the fum of the
partial errors (a compenfation having taken place
between thofe which, being in a contrary diredion,
do away each other) is only i'' 54' towards the
fouth : but as the fliip*s real progrefs in latitude
towards the north is, according to the obfervations
of the two extreme days of the period, 34° 24';
the fum of the daily errors of the reckoning, in
defeEi or towards the fouth, ought to have been,
in ^proportion to the error of the half-minute
glafs, a twelfth of the real progrefs, that is, 2® 52':
however, it is but i*'54', that^is, fmaller by 58
minutes than it ought to have been : this diminu-
tion can proceed only from a caufe, which, ading
in a diredion contrary to the error of the glafs,
carried the fhip to the northward, and it muft be
believed that it is the efFeâ; of a current, which,
in the interval from the 25th of June to the 20th
of July, carried the fhip 58 minutes towards that
fide. It will be feen that the tendency of the
waters towards the north was conftant, from the
eighth parallel fouth to the land-fall on the north-
west
July 1791-] marchand's VOYAGE. 391
WEST coaft of America, in the latitude of 57*
15' north.
If, with thefe new data, 45 minutes, or 43 miles,
towards the weft, and 58 minutes, or 58 miles,
towards the north, which the currents appear to
have driven thé (hip out of her apparent courfe,
it were wilhed to calculate what were the velocity
and diredlion of her unperceived movement, it
would be found that fhe made 72.3 miles to the
north 36^ 30' weft; which gives for the mean
drift in that direction 2.9 miles in twenty-four
hours.
NOTE XXXV.
The mean rcfult of four fets of obfervations
of diftances of the fun and moon, gives for the
longitude of the 23d at noon, 154'' 25' s and on
comparing it to that of the 20th, it is feen that
the ftiip's progrefs was 37' towards the eaft :
and, as according to the dead reckoning, this
progrefs appears to have been 40', it follows
that, in the fpace of three days the currents may
have carried the ftiip 3 minutes, or 2.6 miles to
the weftward.
The comparifon of the progrefs towards the
north, according to the obfervation and accord-
ing to the dead reckoning, fhews that the ftiip
was carried, during the fame time, 11 minutes, or
II miles to the northward.
c c 4 Thus
39f^ MARCHAND'S VOYAGE, [J^îy l^S^*
Thus the unperceived movement was 11.3 miles
to the north 13® 15' weft ; and the mean drift in
that diredbion 3.76 miles in twenty-four hours.
The difference between the progrefs in longi-
tude by obfervation and the progrefs by accounts
is too fmall fo|- us to jpe able thence to conclude
that the currents fet to the weftward ; but the
pbfervations of latitude afforded the certainty that
tjiey continued to fet to the northward,
NOTE XXXVL
The obfefvations for the longitude and latitude^
made on the 24th, lead to a refult fimilar to tha|
pf the preceding note.
The progrefs towards the eaft^ according to the
dead reckoning, differs^ in the interval from the
23d to the 24th5 from that deduced from the ob-<
fervations, only by 2 minutes in excefs ; that is,
that the obfervation carries the fhip 2 minutes, or
1.67 miles, to the weftward.
But the obfervation of latitude proves that, in
the fame fpace of time, ftie was carried 21 minutes,
or 21 miles, to the northward.
If we choofe to take notice of 1.67 mile^ tQ the
weftward, the unperceived movement in twenty-
four hours will have been 21 miles in the direftion
pf north 30' weft.
NOTE
^llguft 17911] MAilCHAND's VOYAGE,
NOTE xxxvir,
The longitude for the 26th at noon, deduced
from two fets of diftances of the fun and moon,
was 152° 17- and in comparing it to that of the
a4th/ we find that the progrefs towards the eaft
>vas I** 15-.
The dead reckoning gives for this progrefs
32'. Thus, on comparing it to that of the ob-
fervation, the flijp had been carried tp the weft-
ward 17 minutes, or 13.6 miles.
According to the obfervations of latitude fhç
was carried 15 minutes, or 15 miles to the north-
ward.
The unperceiyed movement in the interval of
two days, was therefore 2o| miles to the north 42®
30' weft 5 and her mean drift in twenty-four hour?
was 10.12 miles,
NOTE XXXVm.
The mean refult of four fets of obfervations
of diftances of the fun and moon, reduced to noon,
of the 5 th of Auguft, gave for the longitude of
the ftiip at that period, 143^ 46' ; and on compa-
ring it to that of the 26th of July, we find that,
in the interval of ten days, the progrefs towards
the eaft had been 8° 31^:
According to the dead reckoning, it was only
^•27'; the difference, i"* 4', or 43.9 miles, ex-
prefles
394
MARCHAî^ô's VOYAGE. [Auguft lygi^
prefTes the quantity which the fhip appears to have
been carried to the eaftward by the fetting of the
currents.
It is feen, on comparing on each day the latitude
by account with that by obfervation, that, in the
fame fpace of time, (he was carried 54 minutes,
or 54 miles to the northward.
It will be found, by calculation, that the unper-
ceived movement was 69.25 miles to the north 39*
eaft -y and that the mean drift in that diredion was
about feven miles in twenty-four hours.
NOTE XXXIX.
On the 7th at noon, the latitude, according to
obfervation, was 57^20'; and on deducing from
the longitude obferved on the 5th the eftimated
progrefs towards the eaft in the interval of the two
days, 3** 50', the longitude of the 7th at noon was
139° 56'. In this pofition, the fhip was 15! mi-
nutes more to the northward, and f 40' 15'' or 94
miles more to the weft ward than Cape del En-
GANo (Cook's Cape Edgecumbe) which ought
to have borne eaft about 15® fouth, at the diftance
of I 8 or 19 leagues.
In this fuppofition, Captain Marchand ftôod
on in the diredlion indicated, and at half paft five
o'clock in the afternoon, he perceived the coaft
of America.
At
Augaft 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
395
At fix o'clock. Cape del Engano bore eaft
1 9** 30' fouth, diftant 13 or 1 4 leagues.
From noon till fix o'clock, according to the
traverfe table*, the fiiip had advanced 4.89 miles,
or 4' 53'' towards the fouth, and 15.34 miles or
28' 30" towards the eaft.
On fubtraéling thefe quantities, the former from
the latitude, the latter from the longitude of the
fhip at noon, we have for her pofition at fix
o'clock. Latitude 57® 15^ 7" Longitude 139*
ii 30".
Let us fee what muft be her true fituation ac-
cording to the bearing of Cape del Engano, taken
at the fame moment.
Since the Cape bore eaft 19** 30' fouth, diftant i j
leagues, the ftiip was 13' 13 "more to the northward
than the Cape, and i* 10' 48" more to the weft-
ward.
Let us apply thefe differences to the latitude of
the Cape 57° 4' 30'^, and to its longitude 138**
15' 45", fuch as they were determined by the ob-
feryations made in Captain Cook's third voyage f , ^
* TThe (hip had run ; eaft 7° 43' fouth, 3 miles — eaft 17^
30' 10 miles— eaft 24® 36' fouth miles.
+ The original aftronomtcal ohfewations made in a 'voyage
to the Northern Pacific Ocean, t^c» page 349. Latitude accord-
ing to Cook and King 57° 3'; according to Bajfly 57° 6' — Mean
57° 4I'. Longitude according to Cook and King, 224° 7'; ac-
cording to Bajlj, 224° 2' — Mean 224° 4' 30" eaft from Green^
*wichi or 138° 15 '45" weft £xom Paris,
we
mârchand's voyage. [Auguft 1791.
we fhall find that the latitude of the jOhip muft be
57® I 8'o", and her longitude ijv"* 26' 33".
In lieu of thefe quantities, we have found 57®
Ï / 7" for the one, and 139* 27' 30" for the other :
the error on making the land was therefore :
In Latitude, 2' sf, or about i league too little
to the northward ;
In Longitude o' 57''', or about one fixth of ^
league too rnuch to the weftward.
Let us examine, at prefent, what was the error
of the reckoning in two days and a quarter, frorn
the 5th at noon, to the 9th at fix o'clock in the
evening, the period at which the bearings were
taken of Cape del Engano.
According to the obfervations of the 5th and
the bearing of the 7th, the fhip's progrefs in la^
titude towards the north was 2^ 6' ; and according
to the dead reckoning, i*^ 40' 7" only* : the differ-
ence, 25' S3^'y 25-9 lïiilcs, is the quantity which
the fhip was carried to the northward, by the
action of the currents, in the interval of two days
^nd a quarter,
* JFrom noon on the 5th to noon on the 7th, the progrefs by
account towards the north had been i° 45' (fmaller by 23 mû
nutes than the progrefs by obfervation in the fame interval) :
from noon to lix o'clock in the evening of the 9 th, the pro-
grefs by account towards the fouth was 4' 53'', which muft be
deducted from the progrefs by account towards the north;
and the remainder, 1° 40' 7", will be the progrefs by account
towards the fame fide, from noon of the 5 th to fix o'clock in thç
evening of the 7th, the period when the bearings were taken.
The
Auguft 179.1.] MARCH AN d's VOYAGE. 397
The progrefs in latitude towards the eaft, in the
fame fpace of time, was 4** 19' 27"; and accord-
ing to the dead reckoning it is 4** 18' 30''*: the
difference therefore is only o' 57" and may be con-
fidered as null.
Thus it is feen that, if, from the 5th to the
7th, the currents carried the fhip to the northward
26 miles in 54 hours, or 11,5 miles a day, they
produced no materia] change on the Ihip's courfe
in the diredion of the longitude.
As for the longitude by account given, on
making the land, by the dead reckoning, deduced
from the Bay of La Madre de Dios, it was 138*
30', at noon on the 7th, and 138* 11' 30" at the
moment of the bearing being taken at fix o'clock ;
and as the true longitude at this latter period
\vas 139° 26' 30", the difference was only ,1° 25*
or 151 leagues ahead: I fay aheady with refped to
the land, at which it was intended to touch, and
which was fituated to the eaftward of the fhip :
but this exadtnefs is the efFeél of the compenfations
of partial errors in contrary direftions, which took
place in the courfe of the run.
The following table exhibits the partial errors
of the dead reckoning in either diredion, at the
different periods of the obfervations that were em-
ployed for determining the longitude of the fhip.
From neon of tlie 5th to noon on the 7th, $'^50'; and
s,S' 30^' from noon on the 7th to fix o'clock in the evening of
the fame day^
It'
39^ MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
I79I.
June.
The 20th
From the 20th to the 2 2d
From the 22nd to th&24th
From the 24th to the 25th
From the 2cth
July
to the 20th
From the 20th to the 23d
From the 23rd to the 24th
From the 24th to the 26th
jFrom the 26th
Auguft
to the 5th
From the 5 th to the 7 th
At fix o'clock in the evening,
Periods
OF THE
Observations.
» *^
cn
0 00 ^
0
O^i Ck> »0 • c/5 5"
0 5"
H <î ^ P
■ ' §■
i •
? Sn-^s :
' _0' „ I»
„ ^ ^^^^^
5Ï ST 0
§•
? .W P .W W W ^ ^ :^
5* ■ ■ ■ " -^A>.<»->.
0 fa 0 5"
cr ^ 0; „ M
.-( l-K C3
g- 5- ?ï 2 ^
§ s s 5 ^ ^
s> W ti, trj w w ^ ^
i- 2 i' " § 1 ^
^ \ I+++I II 14-
3 0 M 0000 MO 00
S "-I 0 _u «
W W W W W ^ ^ ^ :^
Differences ol
theProgreisto
wards theWef
J or towards th<
Eaft accord^ t(
theD RecVoni
compared to
^ theProgrefs
" accord^, to tht
Obfervations.
i
0
cr
» — '
It
Auguft 1791.3 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
399
It is feeri that, in the courfe of this run, the
errors of the reckoning refpeding the longitude
were inconfiderable, either in the one dire61:ion, or
in the other, and in part counterbalanced each
other. The fum of the errors a/lern, relatively to
the weft, that is to fay, the fum of the quantities
minus PFeft and ^lus Eaft, is 2^ 33'* : that of the
errors ahead, or of the quantities plus^ Weft and
minus Eafty is 1° 8' : and it is remarkable that the
longitude of the point arrived at differing from
that of the point of departure, only about 2 de-
grees (La Madre D£ Digs in 141*' 29' weft, and
the point from which the bearing was taken Cape
DEL Engano in 139*^ 26' 33" weft) the fum of the
errors of the reckoning is almoft double the differ-
ence of the meridians. But if we dedu6i; from
the fum of the errors aftern that of the errors
ahead, there remains, after the compenfation, only
1^' aftern, a quantity which becomes an error
ahead relatively to the land fituated to the eaftward
of the fhip, towards which ftie is direding her
courfe.
The examination of this run leads us to make a
few remarks.
I. From the 25th of June to the 5th of Auguft,
the progrefTes fometimcs towards the weft, fome-
* I take for the Difference from the 24th of June to the 20th
of July, that of 1° 46', becaufe this is the error (uncorrefted)
with which the progrefs in longitude, eftimated in the interval
of thefe two days, w;^ really afFefted, whatever was the caufe
of it.
times
406 M ARCH AN d's VOYAGE. [Augulï I'^gii
times towards the eaft, fuch as were indicated
by the obfervations, nearly balance each otherj
and the dired courfe of the Ihip deviates little
from a meridian ; for, according to the obférvà-
tions, the longitude of the 25th of June was 143"*
49', and that of the 5 th of Auguft, i^f 46': the
difference is therefore only 3 minutes, which the
fhip was lefs to the weftward the lafl: day of this
period than the ôrft»
2. From the 24th of June when the Solide
had reached the latitude of 8° fouth> till the 7th
bf Auguft when flie arrived at the latitude of
57° 18' north, between meridians^ the moft weftern
of which is 10' to the well, and the moft eaftern
2° 34' to the eafti of the 142nd meridian weft from
Paris, the currents, for forty-four days, conftantly
carried the fliip to the northward beyond her ap-
parent progrefs.
The daily quantity of this movement varied ac-
cording to the following indications :
From 8° fouth of the equator, the unperceived
movement towards the north was 12— 10— 15— and
13 miles in twenty-four hours :
From the equator to 12'' north, 10— 5—5— 2—
II— 6— 6 miles :
From 12® to 14° 30', little differences of 3 and
4 miles took place in a contrary direction to the
former :
From 14^ 30' to 26*^, the movement towards
the north was 6—9—6—3—16—5 miles per day:
Form
Auguft 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. 4OI
From 26*^ to 28° 40', no difference :
From 28° 40', a difference, in a contrary direc-
tion, of II miles :
From 28° 40' to 32°, the daily movement to-
wards the north, 5 or 6 miles :
From 3 2*^ to 34^ 21 miles towards the north:
From 34*^ to 42° 40', 7— 8— 13— 9— 15 miles
towards the north :
From 42* 40' to 43°, i mile in a contrary di-
redlion :
From 43** to 44^ 8 miles towards the north :
From 44® to 55*^ i— 2|. miles towards the fame
fide :
Laftly, from 55* to 57** 15', on approaching
the coaft, miles a day, towards the north.
If we fum up the daily and unperceived pro-
grefs towards the north, which took place, in
forty-four days, between the parallel of 8^ fouth
and that of 57° north, in a run of 65* or 1300
leagues in latitude, we ihall find that the fum of
thefe unperceived progreifes, occafioned by the
a6lion of the currents towards the fame fide *, is
253 miles or 84! leagues j and on taking a mean
term, 5! miles, or near 2 leagues in twenty-four
hours.
Some little differences obferved in the courfc
of this period of forty -four days, which indicate
* See at the end of the Notes, the TûbU of the Effea of the
CurrentSy ^th Run^
VOL. II, D D an
4(5^ MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Auguftl/gj,
an accidentai tendency of the waters towards the
SQUthydtfervc no confideration ; for it is not proved
that the greater part of thefe differences do not
belong to the obfervation of latitude, which, as
is well known, may leave an uncertainty of 2 or
3 minutes in its refult, when the obfervation is
made with a ftxtant : and we ought not thence to
conclude that the general tendency of the waters
carried them towards the North.
3. It may be remarked too that, from the 22 nd
of June to the 7th of Auguft, during forty-fix
days, between the parallels of 9® 20' fouth, and
57"* 15' north, and between the longitude of 142''
30' and 139'' 30' weft (the extreme limits of the
progrefs towards the eaft and towards the weft).,
the currents conftantly carried the ftiip to the weft-
ward, except on one occafion (from the 26th of
July to the 5th of Auguft, between 37° 45' and
55** 15' of north latitude, and 152* 15' and 143*"
45 'of longitude) when they carried her to the eaft-
ward, 44 miles in ten days. The fum of the quan-
tities towards the weft amounts to 144 miles or
48 leagues ; which gives for the mean eftedt of
the currents towards that fide, a little more than
3 miles in twenty-four hours.
If we combine thefe 144 miles to the weft with
the 253 to the north, we find that the compound
dlreftion of the currents was north 29** 40' weft,
the way made in this direflion 291.5 miles or 97.2
leagues.
AUguft 1791.3 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE; 403
leagues, and the mean drift 6*3 miles in twenty-
four hours.
Thus, a navigator who might follow the track
of, Captain Marchand, in the fame feafon, and
who fhould employ for direâing his courfe only
the ordinary methods of navigation, might reckon,
in general, that the currents carried the fhip, by
an unperceived movement, 2/^ leagues per day
in the direction of north 30"* weft.
FIFTH RUN,
From the NORTU-JVEST Coaft of AMERICA
to the SANDWICH ISLANDS.
NOTE XL.
On the 21ft of Auguft, the Solide took her
departure from Tchinkitanay Bay, in latitude
57** 4 north, and longitude 137"^ 59' weft.
On the 22nd, the Obfervations of the moon's
diftance from the fun gave for the longitude of the
Ihip, reduced to noon, 137^ 10': thus the progrefs
towards the eaft had been o'' 49'.
The longitude according to the dead reckoning
was 137° i6'i the difference of the progrefs by
account towards the eaft, compared to that which
D b 2 is
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Auguft 179!
is deduced from obfervation, is only 6 minutes
or 31 miles, which the obfefved progrefs is
greater.
On comparing the latitudes, we find that the
progrefs towards the fouth is greater according
to obfervation than according to the dead reck-
oning, by 3 minutes or 3 miles.
Thus, it fhould appear that the currents fet
about 4f miles to the eaft 42° 30' fouth.
NOTE XLI.
On the 23rd, at three-quarters paft five in the
morning, the Solide was in fight and to the weft-
ward of the northern part of the weft coaft of
thofe lands which La Pérouse difcovered in 1 786,
and which, fubfequendy to his difcovery, Captain
Dixon has named Queen Charlotte's Iflands.
On pricking off the fliip's place on the chart
of the Englilh navigator. Captain Marchand
deduced from his obfervations of the preceding
day, that the middle of the entrance of Cloak
Bay is fituated in latitude 54° 10' north, and lon-
gitude 135** 50' weft from Paris 5 and this longi-
tude differs by 10 minutes in excefs from that
^iffigned to it by Dixon's original chart, which
places the entrance in 133® ao' weft from Green-
wich.
But, according to the obfervations made in the
voyage of La Pérouse, we arc of opinion that
Captai^i
Sept. 1791'] MARCHAND's VOYAGE,
Captain Marchandas longitude mentioned in
Captain Chanal's Journal, ought to be increafed
8 minutes; and on applying this corredion to
the longitude of the point whence the bearing was
taken, which was, at noon, 135*^ 53', we have car-
ried this longitude, in the Journal OF theRoute,
to 136*" i'.
NOTE XLII.
On the ifl: of September, at noon, the Solipe;
took her departure from a point from whence
bearings were taken of the land in latitude 52.**
56' by obfervation; and Captain Marchand had
fixed the longitude of this point at 135° io\
according to the General Chart of the NORTH^
WEST COAST OF AMERICA, which is prefixed
to DIXON'S VOYAGE.
But the obfervations made in La Pe rouse's
voyage place in 135° 5' the portion of the coaft
fituated in latitude 52® 56': and, as at the moment
of taking the bearings, the Solide was 5 or 6
leagues, or about 30 minutes to the weflward of
the coaft, the longitude of the point whence the
land was fet will be 135° 35', that is, greater by
15 minutes than that affigned to it by Captain
Marchand and the Journal of Captain Chanal.
In confequence, I have (in the Journal of
THE Route) increafed by 15 minutes the longitude
of the point whence the bearings of the ift of
D D 3 September
' MARCHAND-S VOYAGE. [S,ept. 1791.
September were taken; and the longitudes by
account of the 2nd^ 3r(}, and 4th.
NOTE XLIIL
On the 4th, the longitude deduped from the
obfervations of the moon's diftance from thç fun,
and reduced to noon, was 130* 40'; and on com-
paring it with that of the ift corre6led, as in the
preceding Note, we find that the progrefs towards
the eafi: was 4*^ 5 5
That which was deduced from the dead reck-
oning compared to the fame longitude is only
4* 36-: the difference in three days is therefore
19 minutes, or about 12 miles, which the Ihip
appears to have been carried to the eaftward.
In the fame interval, the progrefs towards the
fouth was greater according to the obfervation
than according to the dead reckoning, from thé,
I ft to the 3rd, II minutes ; but from the 3rd to the
,4th, it was fmaller by 4 minutes: thus from the ift
to the 4th, the currents, from a compenfation
having taken place, fet 7 minutes, or 7 miles, to
the fouth ward.
It might be concluded that the ihip was carried
about 14 miles, in three days, at 4i miles in
twenty-four hours, to the eaft 30° 30' fouth.
NOTE
Sept. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE»
NOTE ?CLIV.
On the 8th, before he loft fight of the coaft of
America, Captain Marcha î^d took a bearing
off Berkley Soui>d.
At half paft fix o'clock in the evening, the
entrance of this bay bore north-eaft half caft
diftant fix leagues : and, on fetting off the bear-
ing on Dixon's Chart, where Berkley Soynd is
placed in latitude 48*^ 57' north, and longitude
128* 28' weft from Paris, it was concluded that
the point whence the bearings was taken, which
wsLS made the Point of departure, was fituatcd in
Latitude 48^ 46' North.
Longitude 1 28'%8' Weft,
NOTE XLV.
The refult of the lunar obfervations of the 1 9th
in the morning, reduced to noon, placed the (hip
in longitude 139* 3' ; and, on comparing it to that
of the point of departure (preceding Note), \%
will be feen th^t the progrefs toward? the weft
was 10° 15 V
According to the dead reckoning, it appears to
have been 1 2® 3'.
Thus in the Ipace of eleven days, the Ihip was
carried ajiern or to the eaftward, by the aftion of
the currents, 1® 48', or 83,6 miles.
P D 4 She
408 MARCHAND*S VOYAGE. [Sept. 179I.
She was carried to the fouthward a ftill more
confiderable quantity: the daily differences between
the latitude by account and the latitude by obfer-
vation, were 2, 4, 8, 9, 15, 16, and 17 minutes;
and the fum of thefe différences is 2* 6', or 126
miles, which the fliip was carried towards the fouth
in the interval of eleven days.
On combining thefe quantities towards the fouth
with the quantities towards the eaft, we find that
the currents carried the fliip by an unperceived
movement, 151. 5 miles in eleven days, or 13.77
miles in twenty-four hours, to the fouth 33* 15'
NOTE XLVL
The progrefs towards the weft, according to the
compared refults of the obfervations of the 19th
and 2ift, was 2® 30'; and as, according to the
dead reckoning, it is only i"" 17', it may thence be
concluded that, in the interval of two days, the
tinperceived progrefs towards the weft was 13
miiiutes or 11.2 miles.
The unperceived progrefs towards the foutli
was, in the fame fpace of time, 8 minutes or
8 miles.
And, on combining the two movements, we
find that the ftiip was carried 13.8 miles in two
days, or 6.9 miles a day, to the weft 35° 30'
fouth,
NOTE
Sept. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. 4^5
NOTE xmii.
From the aift to the 23rd, the progrefs to-
wards the weft was, according to the obfervations,
û° 14', and 2^ 8', according to the dead reckoning;
the difference is 6 minutes or 5.22 miles, which
the fliip appears to have been carried to the weft-
ward in two days, or 2.6 miles in twenty-four
hours.
The difference between the latitudes by obfer-
vation and by account have compenfated for each
other, and were only 2 minutes in the one direc-»
tion, and as much in the other.
NOTE XLVIIL,
According to the compared refults of the lunar
obfervations of the 23rd and 30th, the progrefs
in longitude towards the weft, in the interval o{
feven days, was 5^ 40' j and the progrefs accord-
ing to the dead reckoning, was, 6"^ o'. It follows
that the fliip was carried to the eaftward, 20 mi-
nutes, or 18 miles.
The differences of the latitudes by account,
compared to the latitudes by obfervation, coun-
terbalanced each other within 3 minutes, or 3
miles, which the ftiip appears to have been carried
to the fouthward.
On combining the two unperceived movements,
towards the caft and towards the fouth, it will be
found
41 o aîarchand's voYAGEë [0£l. 1791.
found that the lîiip was carried 18.3 miles in feven
days, or 2 1 miles^ in twçnty-four hours, to the eaft
10° fouth,
NOTE XLIX.
Frefli obfcrvations for the longitude made on the
firft of 06lober gave for the progrefs towards the
weft, in twenty-four hours, 1° and the dead
reckoning diifered from it only i minute or 0.93
miles, in exccfs, which it might be imagined that
the fhip had been carried to the eaftward, if the
refults of the lunar obfcrvations to vyhich are com-
pared thofe of the dead reckoning, could attain
that prccifion.
The obfervation of latitude proved that, in the
fame fpace of time, the {hip had been carried to
the fouthward 5 minutes or 5 miles, beyond her
apparent run.
She was therefore carried 5.1 miles to the fouth
lo^^eaft.
NOTE L.
By the lunar obfervations which were made on
the 3rd, the day before the Solide got fight of
the Sandwich Iflands^, it was concluded that the
Ihip had reached the longitude of 155^ 7'; and
her progrefs towards the weft, from the firft of
Xht month, had been 4° 8', greater by 8 minutes,
6 or
Où. 179*] marchand's VOYAGE* ' 411
or 7.53 miles than that indicated by the dead
reckoning.
The progrcfs towards the fouth, in the laft two
days, was greater according to the obfcrvarions,
than according to the refult of the dead reckoning,
by 3 minutes, or 3 miles,
Thus the compound and imperceptible move-
ment had been 8.i miles, in two days, or 4 miles,
in twenty-four hours, to the weft 21° 45' fouth,
NOTE LL
On the 4th at four c/clock in the afternoon, the
Solide was exa6tly under the meridian of the moft
caftern point of the Ifland of O-Whyhee, which
]the obfervations made in Captain Cook's third
voyage* have fixed at 157° 10' 15" weft from
Paris; and the longitude of the fhip, at that
period, ought to have been the fame as that of
this point.
On the 3rd at noon (preceding Note), the lon-
gitude of the (hip deduced from obfervation, was
155° 7'. From the 3rd to the 4th at noon, the
dead reckoning indicated a progrefs towards the
weft of I** 37'j and, froni noon to four o'clock
in the evening of the latte;- day, a progrefs of 17
* See The Original AJÎronomteaJ Ohfewattons made In a 'voy-
age to the Northern Facile Ocean ^ &c. by W. B^yley, page
350, The longitude of this point is there laid down zcf 10'
weft from GreenrMîçhf
minute^
4t« MARCHAN D*S VOYAGE. [0£l. 1791,
minutes towards the fame fide* : thus the longi-
tude deduced from obfervation of the 3rd and
increafed by the progrefs by account towards the
weft, in the interval of 28 hours, was on the 4th
at four o'clock in the afternoon, 157^ i'.
It was therefore fm aller than the true longitude
of the point at which fhe was arrived, and 9?
ininutes aftern ; and the error was 8i miles. But
it will be feen hereafter that this trifling error of
91 minutes belongs to the dead reckoning, which,
in the interval from noon to three or four o'clock
in the afternoon of the 4th, indicates a progrefs
towards the weft too fmall by this quantity : and
if, in thefe twenty-eight hours, the real progrefs
of the fhip had been the fame as her apparent pro-
grefs, the longitude on making the land would have
been precifely the lame as that of the eaft point
of O-Whyhee, on the meridian of which the Ihip
was placed.
In order to afcertain the error which occurred
in the reckoning, in the interval from noon to
three or four o'clock in the afternoon, it will be
©bferved that the longitude by account of the
4th at noon (Journal of the Route) was 158^
26', to which muft be added the progrefs by
account towards the weft, from noon to four o'clock
' * From noon to four clock, the fliip fleered weft 14° 30'
fouih— -weft 37*^ fouth—weft 31°, 30' fouth— w.eft 19® I5^{buth ;
and ftie ran 4-^ miles on each of thefe courfes.
in
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
in the afternoon of the 4th which is 17 miles to-
wards the weft and we fhall have, for the lon-
gitude by account at this latter moment i5S°43'.
On comparing this longitude to the longitude by
account of the 3rd, we find that, according to
the dead reckoning, the progrefs towards the weft,
in the interval from noon to three or four o'clock
in the afternoon of the 4th, is 54'.
But if we compare the true longitude of the
4th at four o'clock, 157* 10' 15'^ to the longitude
deduced from the obfervation of the 3rd at noon,
155® Y y ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ progrefs was 2^ 3 '
15'': thus the error of the dead reckoning was, in
twenty-eight hours, minutes or 8.66 miles,
which it appears that the currents fee the fliip to
the weftward.
At the fame time, they carried her, according
to the obfervations, 4 minutes, or 4 miles to the
northward: thus the unperceived movement of
the û}ip was 9.6 in twenty-eight hours, or 8.2
miles, in the diredion of weft 24^ 45' north.
If, at prefent, we wifti to find what was, on
making the land, the error of the longitude by
account deduced by the dead reckoning, during
the paflage, from the longitude of the 8th of Sep-
tember in fight of Berkley Sound, we muft add
1° 54' (progrefs by account towards the weft,
from noon to three or four o'clock in the after-
noon of the 4th) to 156^ 49' (longitude by ac-
count of the 3rd at noon ; and we fliall have 158"^
I 43'
414 marchand's voyagé. [Où. 1791»
43 for that of the 4th : it is greater ttian the true
longitude, by 3 45", or 87^ miles or 29.2
leagues ahead.
It would have been greater by 36! minutes, if
no compenfation had taken place : it will be feeit
by the following table, that from the 8th of Sep-
tember tQ the 4th of 06lober, the fum of the
errors plus weft was 2° 9'j but that of the errors
minus wcfi being 36! minutes, there remained, de-
ducing the latter, only 32' 45" for the former.
0£l. i79i«] marchand's voyage.
It may be remarked, in the run from the
NORTH-WEST coaft of AMERICA to the Sandwi'ch
Iflands, that, when the Solide was (landing to
the northward, from the 19th to the 57th parallel
(between the 13th of July and 7th of Auguft),
the currents conftantly fet to the northward, 2|,
31, 2Ï, 71, 5-1, and iif a day: and that, on the
contrary, in running from the 57th to the i^th
parallel (betv/een the 21ft of Auguft and the 4th
of October,) they fet tô the fouthward, 3, 2|, ii|,
4, 5, and I miles a day*.
In the former period, the Solide had failed be-
tween the 150th and 140th meridian welt from
Paris ; and in the latter, llie had failed between
the 140th and 157 th.
It does not appear to me, therefore, that it is to
the difference of meridians, which is not very con-
fiderable, that we ought to attribute the change
in the diredlion of the currents; it would appear
rather to depend on the difference of the feafons.
It will be for navigators who fhall, in the fequel,
fail in thefe latitudes, at the fame periods when
the Solide croiTed therq, to afcertain whether the
* In the laft twenty-four hours only, they fet 4 miles to
the northward ; but the {h'p was then at no great diftance from
the a rchipelago of the Sandwich I Hands ; and it is well known
that the channels which feparate iflands, occafion currents that
vary according to the tides, according to the wind which has
blown, and whofe efFeél is frequently felt at rather confiderable
diftances from the lands between which they have begun to
form,
diredion
4l6 MARCHANû's VOYAGE* [061. I791.
direction and the velocity of the currents will
again prove the fame as thofe which we have
thought ourfelves juftified in deducing from the
obfcrvations for the latitude and longitude made
by Captains Marchand and Chanal, in (landing
up and running down, between the two extreme
parallels, which, in the latter period, limit the
courfe of the Solide.
SIXTH RUN
From the SANDWICH IJlands to the MART-
ANNE IJlands and to MACAO.
NOTE LIL
On the 7th, at fix o*clock in the evening, a
laft bearing was taken of the Illand of 0-Whyhe£,
in order to fix the point of departure, at that
moment, the two extremities in fight bore from
north 5*^ eafl: to eaft-fouth-eafl: 1^ 30' eafl:; and
the Ihip was at the diftance of two leagues from
the nearefl: fliore. From thefe bearings was fixed
the
P * t of D t el • • • ^9° ^' North.
^ (Longitude.. 158 2^ Weft.
NOTE
Oft. 1791'] MARCH and's voyage.
4t;
NOTE LIII.
The refult of two fets of diftances of the fun
and moon, obferved on the 19th at forty-two
minutes after nine in the mornings gave for the
longitude of that day at noon 178° 48' weft from
Paris; and on comparing it to that of the point
of departure, we have for the fliip's progrefs to-
wards the weft in the interval of ii| days, 20° 19'.
The progrefs, according to the dead reckoning,
was only 18^ 54^: thus the currents had driven
the ftiip to the weftward 1^ 25', or 81J miles.
In the fame fpace of time, except the 2nd, jrd»
and 4th day of the period, the currents had con-
ftantly carried the ftiip to the fouthward, and this
movement had been fometimes 10, 11, and 15
miles in twenty-four hours 5 but from the 8th to
the 9tK of the month, the unperceived movement
had been 10 miles towards the north, and, from
the 9th to the loth, it was 29 miles towards the
fame fide : in thefe two days the fhip had failed
between the latitude of 19^ 30' and 20^ north, and
between the longitude of 159° 40' and 160^^40'
weft.
On dedudling the fum of the unperceived move-
ment towards the north, from the fum of the
movement towards the fouth, we find as the re*
fult, that the ftiip, in the courfe of the period,
had been carried, 12 minutes, or 12 miles to the
fouthward,
VOL. ru E Ê And
4i8 marchand's VOYAGE. [061. 1791.
And on combining the movement towards the
fouth, with that which the obfervations for the
longitude indicated towards the weft, it will be
feen that the fhip was carried 82.5 miles in iif
days, or about 7 miles in twenty-four hours to the
weft 8° 20' fouth.
NOTE LIV.
The refult of the lunar obfervations, made on
die 20th, confirmed that of the obfervations of Î
the 19th.
The progrefs towards the weft in the twenty-
four hours iiad been 1° 31' according to the obfer-
vations, and 1° 25' according to the dead reck-
oning ; the difference of 6 minutes or 5.8 miles,
in defed", on the fide of the reckoning, would
indicate that the currents may have carried the
Ihip to the weft ward that quantity ; at the fame
time that the obfervation of latitude announces
that they effeded no change in the fliip^s courfc
in the direction of the latitude.
NOTE LV.
The progrefs to the weftward, from the 20th
to the 23rd, was, according to the obfervations,
7" 8', while, according to the dead reckoning, it
ought to have been only 5° 54^ : the currents there-
fore drove the fhip, in three days, 74 minutes, or
72
Nov. 1791.] marchand's voyage.
72 miles, to the weft ward : this is at the rate
of I mile an hour, or 8 leagues a day.
The effe6l of the currents was nearly null in
the diredion of the latitude: 2 minutes to the
fouthward, the firft day ; 2 miputes to the north-
ward, the fécond ; no difference, the third : thus>
the little effedt of the currents, if this effed be
real and belong not to fome fmall errors in the
obfervations, was counterbalanced and done away
in the courfe of the period.
NOTE LVL
The currents continued to fet to the weftward
from the 23rd of Oftober to the 2nd of No-
vember.
On comparing the refult of the obfervations for
the longitude of the latter day, with that of the
obfervations of the former (172° 33' with 148° 14')
it is feen that, in the interval of ten days, the
progrefs by obfcrvation towards the weft, 24*^ 19',
exceeded by i"* 39, or 97 miles, the progrefs by
account v/hich was only 22° 40'.
The efFed of the currents, fometimes towards
the north, fometimes towards the fouth, was in-
confiderable, and, after having fubtraded the one
from the other, is reduced to 3 minutes, or 3 miles
towards the north.
The compound effed is 97 miles in ten days,
or 9.7 miles in twenty-four hours, to the weft i""
40' north,
NOTE
420
MARCHANDAS .VOYAGE. [NoV. 179I,
NOTE LVII.
Two fets of diftances obferved on the 2nd, at
tvventy-feven minutes after two in the afternoon,
and reduced to noon, had given 148° 14' for the
longitude (preceding Note.)
Two other fets obferved on the 4th, at one mi-
nute after five in the evening, gave for the longi-
tude at noon of that day, 144° 34'.
On comparing this latter longitude with the
former, it will be found that, according to the
obfervations, the fhip's progrefs towards the weft
in two days, would have been only 3^ 40'.
But, according to the dead reckoning, the pro-
grefs towards that fide is 4° 23' j which would
imply that, in 48 hours, the fhip had been carried
to the eaftward^ 43 minutes, or 41.6 miles, that
is, about feven leagues a day. This extraordinary
efFed of the movement of the waters which, be-
tween the tropics, conftantly fet to the weftward,
unlefs the vicinity of fome great land or of an
archipelago occafion a change in their diredlion,
fuggefted the idea that there might be an error in
the obfervations of the 2nd or in thofe of the 4th -,
and our navigators determined to take a mean
between the refults combined with the progrefs
which had been deduced from the calculation of
the fhip's run.
According to this calculation, the progrefs to-
wards the weft, from the 2nd to the 4th, was 4°
23
Nov. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
411
23' : on dedu6i:ing this quantity from the longi-
tude by obfervation on the 2nd and reduced tO'
noon of that day, there remains for that of the 4th
at noon, 143^ 51'. Now, if we take a mean be-
tween this longitude and that which the obferva-
tions gave for the fame period, we fhall have 144^
12' 30'', a longitude which partakes both of the
obfervations of the 2nd and 4th, and of the pro-
grefs by account in the interval of thcfe two
periods.
From noon to three quarters paft five o'clock
in the evening of the 4th, the progrefs by account
towards the weft was 35 minutes : and on fubje6ling
it to the longitude obferved and correded of the
fame day at noon, which was 144° 13' ^ we have
for the longitude of the Ihip at three quarters
paft five o'clock, 143° 38'.
At the fame moment, the Ifland of Tinian
(of the archipelago of the Mary-Anne Illes) bore
from weft fouth-weft half weft to north-weft by
weft, diftant two leagues.
The ifland was therefore about 5 minutes to the
weftward of the fl:iip ; and on deduâiing this quan-
tity from the longitude at three quarters paft five,
we ftiall have for that of Tinian, 143° 33'.
Obfervations made, in 1767, by Captain Wal-
LIS, on board the Dolphin, give for the lon-
gitude of this ifland 143° 34*45"*: the difference
between
See Aftronomtcal Oh/er'vations ?nade i?i the Voja^es for mahilfj^
E E 3 Di/cçvenes
422
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [NoV. I79I.
between the one determination and the other
is therefore only 3 minutes.
N If we wiflied to take the mean longitude ob-
ferved of the 4th at noon, 144° 13', for the term
of comparifon, and we compare to it the longi-
tude obferved of the 2nd at noon, it will be found
that, in forty-eight hours, the progrefs towards
the weft was 4"^ i' : but the progrefs by account is
4° 23' : thus the fhip appears to have been carried
to the eaftward by an unperceived movement or
has advanced lefs to the weft ward than her ap-
parent progrefs indicated, 22 minutes, or 21 J
miles.
In the fame fpace of time, ftie was carried 7
minutes to the northward, from the 2nd to the
3rd, and 3 minutes to the fouthward, from the
3rd to the 4th : there remains a movement to
the northward of 4 minutes, or 4 miles.
On combining the efFed of the aétion of the
current, we find that there was an unperceived
movement of 2if miles in forty- eight hours, or
ÎO.87 miles, a day, to the eaft 11® north.
D'ifco'veries in the fouthern Hemifphere^ by W. Wales, London,
Ï788. 4to. IntroduSilofi, page x. Mr. JVa!es gives for the
longitude of Tinian 214° 4' weft from Greennvich, 143° 55I'
weft from Paris*
NOTE
Nov. 1791 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
NOTE LVIII.
The longitude deduced from the obfervations
of the i6th and reduced to noon, is 122^ 6';
' and on comparing it to the longitude obferved
and corrected of the 4th at noon, it is feen that
the progrcfs towards the weft was 22° 7'.
It was only 19° 54', according to the dead reck-
oning; and the difference 2^13', or 126? miles,
is the quantity which the Ihip was carried to the
weftward by an excefs of the real progrefs beyond
the apparent.
In the period of twelve days, the effed of the
currents on the latitude prefents variations fome-
what confiderable : from the 4th to the 8th, they
carried the fhip to the northward 17, 4, 5, and
16 minutes in twenty-four hours ; from the 8th
to the loth, 9 and 5 minutes to the fou th ward ;
-from the loth to the 12th, 7 and 2 minutes to the
northward; from the 13th to the 14th, 8 minutes
to the fouthwardj from the 14th to the 15th, 8
minutes to the northward; laftly from the 15th
to the i6thj 16 minutes to the fouthward. After
having fubtraded the fum of the errors on the
one fide, from that of the errors on the other,
there remain 21 minutes, or 21 miles to the
northward.
Thefe 21 miles combined with the i26j miles
towards the weft, produce a compound and un-
E E 4 perceived
434
MAltCHANt)*S VOYAGE. [Nov. I791.
perceived movement of 128 miles in twelve days,
or loi miles in twenty-four hours, to the weft 9*
30' north,
NOTE LIX.
On the iSth at noon, the fouth-weft point of
the Ifland of Formosa bore eafl-north-eaft half
north, diftant four leagues and a half. The fhip
was therefore lefs to the northward than this point
by 6' l", and lefs to the eaftward, by 12' 21".
The latitude of the fliip obferved at the fame
inftant, was 21^ 48' ^ and it may be concluded that
the latitude of the point of Formosa is 21° 54'.
It is 22° 2' on the Chart of the China Sea, con-
ftruâed in the voyage of La Pé rouse, if we there
take the difference of the parallel of this point
in regard to the fouth-eaft point of the great
Botel-Tabago-Xima the pofition of which is
fixed by the obfervations made in that voyage ;
Alexander Dalrymple places the fouth point
of Formosa, on the Chart of the Cbina Sea, pub-
Jifhed in 1771, in latitude 22® 2' 30''. I prefent
thefe differences only for the purpofe of inducing
navigators to afcertain which of the latitudes ought
to be adopted.
In Order to cflablifh the true longitude of the
fouth-weft point of Formosa, which is now to
fervc as a term of comparifon to which we fhall
ttdutrc the calculations of the Soi^ide's run from
the
Nov. Ï791O marchand's voyage. 425
the Sandwich Iflands to abreaft of this point, I
obferve that the fouth-eaft point of the great
Botel-Tabago-Xima is fituated, according to
the obfervations made in La Pé rouse's voyage,
of which I take the liberty of making ufe by an-
ticipation, in 119*^ 32' eaft longitude ; and that, on
the chart of the China Sea conftru6i:ed in this voy-
age and intended to form a part of the Atlas
which will accompany the narrative, the fouth-weft
point of Formosa is lefs eafterly than the fouth-
eaft point of the Great Botel, by 52 minutes:
the longitude of the point of Formosa is therefore
118^40/.
But on the i8th of November, at noon, the
Solide, according to the bearings of the land,
was I2y minutes lefs to the eaft ward than the
'point of Formosa : the longitude of the Ihip, at
this period, was therefore 118° 27' 40''.
Let us firft fee what was the error of the dead
reckoning in the interval comprifed between the
obfervations for the longitude made on the i6th
and the land-fall on the 1 8th.
The longitude deduced from the obfervations
of the 16th was (preceding Note) 122° 6': that
which was deduced from the bearings of the i8th
is 118° 28' (in round numbers) : thus, in the in^
terval of forty-eight hours, the fhip's progrels to-
wards the weft was 3° 38'i But, according to
the dead reckoning, this progrefs appeared to be
3^ 34^' the différence of 4 minutes, or
3-72
4^6 marchand's voyage. [Nov. 1791. |
3.72 miles, is the quantity which it may be fup-
pofed that the currents carried the fhip to the
weftward.
During the fame time, they carried her, accord-
ing to the obfervations of latitude, 17 minutes, or
17 miles, to the northward.
The compound movement of the fliip out of
her apparent courfe, was therefore 17.4 miles in
two days, or 8.7 miles in twenty-four hours, to
the north 12® 30' weft.
As the SoLiDE*s voyage, on leaving the fouth-
weft point of Formosa, no longer prefents any
point of comparifon till her arrival at Macao,
and as, in fight of this point, the calculations
of the dead reckoning, made during this latter
part of the run, are redlified, I can fuppofe it
terminated on the i8th of November; and I (hall
examine what was, on making the land of For*
mosa, the error of the longitude deduced from the
obfervations of the i6th, and what was the error
of the longitude deduced from the dead reckoning
fince her departure frpm the Sandwich Iflands.
The longitude of the ihip, on the i6th at noon,
according to the obfervations made on that day,
of 122^6'eafti and the progrefs by account to-
wards the weft, from the i6th at noon, to noon
of the 18th, the period of the bearings being
taken off the Ifland of Formosa, is f 34 : thus
the longitude of the Solide, on the i8th at noon
(according to the reckoning of a courfe of forty-
eight
Nov. 1791»] marchand's VOYAGE. 427
eight hours, deduced from the refult of the obfcr-
vations of the i6th) was 118° 32'. We have feen
that her true longitude deduced from the bearings
was 118® 28': the fuppofed longitude was therefore
in error only 4 minutes, or about li leagues ajlem
of the true i I fay afterny relatively to the courfc
of the fliip which was failing towards the weft.
Let us fee, at prefent, what would have been
the error on making the land, if, in order to
regulate the courfe of the Solide, aftronomical
obfervations had not been made ufe of, and if the
ignorance of the captain had condemned him to
employ only the ordinary methods of navigation.
The longitude deduced from the dead reckon*
ing from the point of departure taken from the
Sandwich Iflands, on the 7th of Odober, was
at the moment of the bearings being taken off the
Ifland of Formosa, on the i8th of November,
124° 47^: and as we have feen that the true lon-
gitude of the fhip, at that period, was iiS'' 28', it
follows that after 41I days' navigation, the longi-
tude by account was in error, aftern (iince it is
eaft) 6° 19', which, in the parallel of the point
arrived at, anfwer to a little more than 117 leagues.
The following Table prefents the partial errors
of the dead reckoning, fuch as they may be reck-
oned in each of the periods which divide the run,
confidering the refults of the obfervations for the
longitude made at the extreme limits of each pe-
riod, as fixed points of comparifon.
Periods
I
428 MARCH AN D'S VOYAGE. [NoV. I791J
I79I.
oaober
On the 7th at 6 P. M.
From the 7 th to the 19th
From the 1 9th to the 20th
From the 20th to the 2 3rd
From the 23 rd
November
to the 2nd
From the 2nd to the 4th
From the 4th to the i6ch
From the 1 6th to the i8th
Inf
point
Periods
OF THE
Observations.
2^ u ^ ^ ^
tZ,<^ 4^ ^ 4k. u» «ja "^H*
a '0
Latitude
by
Obfervation
North.
0 g |:
K^Er»-'hi4^4a. •<i^Fj>^Vwr,c-n>o
V ^ '
^??coC>>Oi4!^ 0*-. o-jvo ^
Longitude
by
Obfervation
West.
o*N4w4». ^t-. 0 °
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Progrefs in
Longitude in
the interval 0
the Obferva-
tions accord^ to
Observation
"-I
U>S04^b> ^ t-i OQ 0
Ck» to 4k. v-n M ^
^^^^ ^ ^ ^
Progrefs in
Longitude in
the interval ot
the Obferva-
tions accord^,
to the Dead
Reckoning.
1 1 + 1 II 1
4>-<«*»»>>vO 4^0» w
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Differences ot
theProgrefsto-
1 wards theWeft
accords to the
Id. Reckoning
1 compared to
' the Progrefs
' according to
iOfiSERVATIO.N'.
j
1
B
1
Interval
of the
Obfervations.
1
It is feen that, except in the interval from the 2nd
to the 4th of N'ovember, during which the fliip appears
to have been carried to the eqfiward*^ the currents, in
all
* This effca of the currents is extraordinary : perhaps it ought to
be
Nov. 1791.] marchand's voyage.
all the other periods of the run^ conftantly fet to
the weftward. The fum of the imperceptible
movements towards that fide, deduéling that which
was made towards the eaft, amounts to 6** 19,
or 351.6 miles. If this quantity be divided by
the number of the days, 417, it will be found
that the mean effeél of the currents carried the
(hip to the weftward 8.4 miles in twenty-four
hours. It is well known that this movement of
the waters, from eaft to weft, is conftant between
the tropics, in crofTing the Great Ocean.
be attributed to an error in the obfervations of the 2nd or in
thofe of the 4th. It has been feen (page 420) that, but for the
correélion which it was thought proper to make, and which is
juftified by the precifion of the land-fall on Formofa, the efFe<ft
would have been 43 minutes or about 42 miles in two days,
or 7 leagues in twenty-four hours. Perhaps too, if we obferve
that it took place between the 148 th and the 144th meridian,
on approaching the Mary- Anne Iflands, fituated in 145° 30',
we might fuppofe that the waters, after having been impelled by
the general current, and heaped up, if we may ufe the com-
parifon, in the great gulf which fpreads between the Iflands
of Japan and thofe of Nenjo Guinea, flow back in a contrary-
direction, and crofling the archipelago of the Mary ^ Anne Iflands,
the range of which extends on a meridian, acquire, by their
confinement in the channels between thofe iflands, a velocity
towards the eaft, which is full as far as 4 or 5 degrees beyond
the meridian of that archipelago. I prefent this idea only as a
bold conjeClure.
SEVENTH
marchanb's voyage. [Nov. 1791,
SEVENTH RUN,
From MACAO to the IJle of FRANCE.
NOTE LX.
It has been feen in the Narrative, that the
Solide having failed from Macao on the 6th
of December, on the nth made the iflots called
the Two Brothers,, and fucceffively the group
of Pulo-Sapata : this unexpedled land-fall, at
the time when Captain Marchand reckoned that
he had ftill a rather long run to make before
he Ihould be near enough to perceive them, gave
him reafon to think that they are carried too far
to the weft ward, in regard to Macao, on the
Chart of the China Sea^ publiihed in 1771 by Alex-
ander Dalrymple, and on the copy which
D'Après has given of it in the fécond edition of
his Neptune Oriental. As it is by this chart that
all the French navigators regulate their cojurfe in
this fea, I have conceived that it would be ufeful
to examine the queftion ; to fee whether the modern
voyages did not furnifh us with data fufficient for
determining, with the precifion required for the
fafety of navigation, the difference of meridian
which ought to be admitted between Macao and
Pulo-Sapata, and to compare to it that at which
thefe two points are placed on Mr. Dalrymple's
chart,
I. Bayly,
Nov. 1791-] marchand's voyage. 4gi ,
I. Bayly, the aftronomer, in Cook's third voy-
age, obferved diftances of the fun and moon, in
the Typa (Macao Road) on the 2nd, the 28th,
and the 29th December 1779, and on the 13th
of January 1780. Thefe four fets of obfervations
furnifhcd him with fixteen particular refults, the
extremes of which differ 52 minutes. On com-
bining thefe fixteen refults with thofe of the lunar
obfervations which he had taken at fea, before and
after the (hip's arrival in the Typa, and which he
reduced to this road by means of a good chrono-
meter, he, by a mean between all thefe refults,
fixed the longitude of the Typa at uf" 37' 15^
eaft from Greenwich*: and as, according to the
' fame aftronomer, the town of Macao is more
eafterly than the Typa by i minute f, it refults
that, according to his obfervations, the longitude
of Macao is 113° 38' 15'^ J.
Lunar obfervations, made at the fame period
in the Typa by different officers belonging to
the Resolution, furniihed thirty-fix other refults
the extremes of which differ f 45' 30''' ; and the
mean refult, after having been combined with
that of fourteen other obfervations, made before
and after the fliip's arrival, gave for the longi-
tude of the Typa 113° 48' 34^*^ eaft from Green-
wich ; and 113° 49' 34^'' for that of Macao.
* The original ajironomlcal obfer^vatlons made in a 'voyage to
the "Northern Pacific Océan» By W. Bayly, page 77.
i Ihid, page 76. X Ibid, page 78.
The
432 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [NoV. Ijgt*
The mean between the mean refults of two fets
of obfcrvations made in Cook.'s voyage, would
therefore be for Macao 113"^ 43' 541^^ : but as the
obfervations of the firft fet agree better with each
other than thofe of the fécond, it is expedient to
place greater confidence in them ; and we may
admit for the mean refuU of the two fets, 113"* 40"
caft from Greenwich.
We may alfo determine the longitude of Macao
by its difference of meridian from Canton.
2. George Robertson, in the excellent Me-
moir which he has publilhed for the elucidation
of his large Chart of the China Sea (177 1) gives
àn account of various obfervations from which he
has determined the longitude of Canton* :
iBy the obfervations of the Hon. Thomas
Howe, (Determined by the emerfion
of Jupiter' s Çiï^ fatellite) ii3°33'oo^
Ditto of Captain Joseph Huddart
(emerfion of Jupiter's firft fatellite) 113 16 00
iBy a great number of obfervations made
by Henry Brown, during his long
refidence at Canton, as Supercargo 113 10 00
By the obfervations of Captain Lestock.
Wilson, by time-keeper made by
Arnold 113 21 15
* Memoir of a Chart of the China Sea» London, 1 791. 4to.
page 2.
T The
Nov. 1791.] marchand's voyagé. 433
The refult of the Hon. Thomas Howe differs
too much from the other three for it to be ad-
mitted *.
The mean of thefe would give. ... 113® 15' 45/'^
But if we are willing to adhere to a mean refult
between Mr. Brown's longitude and that of Cap-
tain HuDDART, both deduced from the emerfion
of Jupiter's firft fatellite, we ftiall have 113°
13^00'''^ eaft from Greenwich, or 110° S'^' 4S^'
from Paris f.
The difference of meridian between Canton
and Macao was determined by three diff'erent
chronometers J.
By Mr. Henry Brown, at different times i8'W.
By Captain Wilson, outward bound. ,.17'
By Ditto i homeward bound. . 16'
By Captain Joseph Hudson. . , 16'
Difference of meridian by zmean (Macao
«eaft) ï6'4S^f
The
* Rohertfon obferves that the Hon. Thomas Honve has de-
termined the latitude of Canton at 22° 52' 50" ; and that Captain
Jofeph Huddart and Captain Lejiock Wilfon, both excellent ob-
fcrvers, make it, the former 23° 6' 57", and the latter^
23° 6' 53": which differs near 15 minutes from that of Mr,
Honve ; and he adds that if in Mr. Hoove's latitude there is
*^ fo great an error there is reafon to conclude that the longitude
by the fame obferver cannot be exadt.*'
f The Connaijfance des Temps (Nautical Almanac) of the
year VIII. of the French era, 1800, gives for the longitude
of Canton, 1 10° 42' 30'' : this is the mean refult of feven emer-
fions of the nrft fatellite, obferved towards the end of the laft
VOL, II. FF century
43.4 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [NoV. l/gf.
If we add this dlfFerence to the longitude of
Canton 113® 13' eaft from Greenwich, we fliall
have for the longitude of Macao (in round num-
bers) 113*30'.
We had, farther back, by the obferva-
tions in Cook's voyage. 1 13® 40^"
Longitude of MACAO by a mean .113 35
(or in° i^' AS"> ^'^d III'' 15' in round numbers,
eafl: from the meridian of Paris*.)
3. The third voyage of Captain Cook furnrlhes
us with obfervations which may ferve to determine
the difference of meridian between Macao and
Pulo-Sapata.
The obfervations of the aftronomer Bayly,
and a chronometer whofe rate was afcertained
feven days before at Macao, gave for the lon-
gitude of Pulo-Sapata eaft from GREENWicHf
109° j6', and thofe of Captain King 109® 10' J ;
the mean is 109° 13' :
And
century by Father Fantenay, a Jefuit,- for which there were no
correfpondent obfervations in Europe.
J G, Robert/on* s Memoir, page 9.
* The longitude of Macao is likewife 111° 15' in the French
nautical almanac or Connaijfance des Te?nps\ but the refult was
obtained by another means; for it has been feen (preceding
Note) that it places Canton about 10 minutes lefs to the eallward
than the determination which we have adopted.
' + The Original Aflronomical Ob/ern^aiions, See page 351.
J Cook's third njoyage, Vol. III. page 449. King fays
that his obfervations compared with Mr, Bajly*s time-keeper,,
place
Dec. 17910]
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
435
And as it has been feen (farther back, Remark
ift) that the mean refult of all the obfervations of
Cook's voyage made in the Typa, placed Macao
113** 40' eaft from Greenwich, it follows that
the chronometer indicated for the difference of me--
ridian of PULO-SAPATJ, 4"" 27' weft from MA-
CAO.
We may feek this difference by another me-
thod* /
The obfervations made in the third voyage of
Captain Cook during the ftay of the Resolution
and Discovery at Pulo-Condore, give us for
the longitude of that ifland * :
By a mean between 49 refults of obfervations of
the moon's diftance from the fun or ftars (the
extremes differing 1^23 '15'''') made by Captain
King and another ofEcer, we have for the lon-
gitude of PuLo-CoNDORE, caft from Greei^-
WICH . . . loG"" 18^ 46^'
i^2iCe. Pulo-Sapata m longitude 109° i eaft from Greennx)lch%
^nd he adds that, during the laft three days,the fliips bad outrun
their reckoning at the rate of twenty miles a day : as he could
not attribute the whole of this to the efFefts of a following
fea, he imputed it in part to a current, which, according to his
own calculation, had fet forty-two miles to the fouth-fouth-
weft, between the noon of the 19th and the noon of the 2Qth of
January.
* The Original AJironomtcal OhfernjattonSy &c. pages 79 and
80.
F F 2
By
43^ MarChand's voyage. [Dec. 1791.
By a mean between 22 refults of fimilar obfer-
vations (che extremes ditFering 0° ^o' y'^) made
by the Aftronomer Bayly, we have 106° 44' 29^-^
By a mean between all 106° 31' 38^
On the other hand, we have the eaftern differ-
ence of meridian of Pulo-Sapata, in regard to
PULO-CONDORE :
e f //
By Bayly's Chronometer*.. ... 2 31 31
By that of Captain Hodgson j-. ... 2 39 co
And by a mean 2 35 15
If we add this difference of meridian to the
longitude of Pulo-Condore, 106° 31' 38^ we
fliall have for the longitude of Pulo-Sapata,
109° 00' 53'': and, on comparing it to that
which we have adopted for Macao, which is
113° 35' eaft from Greenwich, we fhall find
for the difference of meridian of PULO-SAPATA
4"" 34^ f weft from MACAO.
A third method prefents itfelf to us for deter-
mining this difference ; and G. Robertson fur-
nifhes us with it in his Memoir of a Chart of the
China Sea. On the one hand, the longitude of
PuLo-AoR is determined by feveral obfervations ;
and other obfervations give us its difference of
* The Original AJirono7nical Ohfervahonst pages 79 and 351
— Pulo-Condore 106° 44' 29"; Fulo-Sapatai 109° 16' by the
obfervations of Mr. Bayly.
+ Robert/on' s Memoir y page 7,
meridian
Dec. i79i#] • marchand's voyage.
437
meridian from Pulo-Sapata : we may thence
deduce the longitude of the latter i and on com-
paring it with the longitude which we have given
for Macao, we fhall find for their difference of
meridian :
For the longitude of Pulo-Aor, eaft from
Greenwich, according to Mr. William Brown,
1767, fun and moon, mean of 3 obfer-
vations 104** 35'
aptain Joseph Hud dart, by chrono-
meter * 104 40
Cook's third voyage, by a chronometer
. regulated at Macao 19 days before.
By Bayly's obfervationsf 104** 43^ . }
By thofe of King, &c. J 104 40 , . 3
Captain Wilson, from Macao, by
chronometer ... 104 40
Ditto from Batavia, ditto 104 40
George Robertson, from Madras, by
chronometer 104 36
By a mean between 7 Refults : Longitude
of PULO'AOR, eaft from GREEN^
WICH 104 38Î
Pr rather in adhering to the four refults
which agree to a minute 104 40
But, according to the account of G. Robert-
* Robert/on^ s Memoir y page 20.
+ The Original Aftronomual Ohfervaùons^ P^S^ 351»
% Cook's third ^voyage. Vol. III. page 466,
F F 3 SOÎJ5
43^
MARCH AN d's VOYAGE. [Dec. i/gi.
SON, pâge 7 of his Memoir ^ " by admitting Py^
LO-AuRo's extreme eaftern longitude 104' 40/
from it up to Pulo-Sapata, the meridian
diftance is 4° 14' meafured by a well-regu-
lated box-chronometer, made by Arnold,
having this advantage of the iflands bearing
*^ due north, when the altitudes for time were
made, fo that no error could arife in the efti^
mation of diftance, which is more frequently
the caufe of difference in obfervation, than any
error in the obfervations themfelves*.''
If we add the 4* jV meridian diftance to the
longitude of Pulo-Aor, which we have fixed at
104® 40', we fhall have for the longitude of Pxj-.
lo-Sapata, eaft from Greenwich, 108^54',
And, on comparing this longitude to that which
we have adopted for Macao, 113° 35 'eaft from
Greenwich, we fhall have for the difference of me*
ridianfrom Pulo-Sapata 4^41' weft from Macao,
Vye have therefore three refults for this differ-
ence of meridian :
The firft, by the obfervations of Cook's thir4
voyage, made at Macao and Pulo-
Sapata (page 435) . . , 4"" 27'
The fécond, by the longitude of Pu-
lo-Sapata, deduced from that of
Pulo-Condore, and compared to
our longitude of Macao (page 436) 4 34
* G, Robertfon^s Memoir, page 7,
4 The
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
439
Tht third, by the longitude of Pulo-
Sapata, deduced from that of Pu-
LO-AoR, and compared to that
which we have admitted for Macao
(as above) 4 4ï
7'he difference of meridian between Pulo
Sjpata and MjcjOy hy a mean
between ally will be ^ .......... • 4 34*
4. Let us now compare this difference of me-
ridian, the mean refult of a great number of ob-
fervations combined in which the errors of the
one muft have compenfated for thofe of the other,
with the difference which the Chart of the China
Sea by Mr. Dalrymple has given between Pulo-
Sapata and Macao.
On this chart, Macao is placed 3® 22^ 30^'',
and Puî-Or-SAPATA 8° 57' weft from the meri-
* The abfolute longitude of Puk-Sapata eaft from Green-
fwîchi deduced from the various differences of meridian weft
from Macao will be as follows, admitting Macao to be 113° 35'
eaft from Greenwich : ^ ^ o /
By the ift difference. ..... 4 27 109 3 .
By the 2nd 4 41 108 54
3y the 3rd 4 34 109 I
Longitude of Puîo-Sapata, by a mean 1^^ i
Difference of meridian, by a mean 4 34
Longitude of Macao. . . . , .....113 35"
Rohertjon, in his Table of Pofitions (page 8i of his Me-
moir) places Macao in 113° 30' — Fulo-Sapata in roS''' «^c';
and on his Chart of the China Sea, Macao is laid down in
113'' 30'^ 2inà Pulo.Sc^pata in 108° 52'; the difference of Me-
ndians is by Ûiç. Table, 4° 35:', and by the Chart, 32'.
F F 4 dian
44^ marchand's voyage. [Dec. 1791-
dian of the Ifland of Banguey : thus Pulo-Sa-
PATA is there laid down 5° 24' ^o" weft from
Macao: but as this dijfference of meridian ought,
according to the obfervations, to be only 4° 34',
the error of the pofition of Pulo-Sapata, in
regard to Macao, on Mr. Dalrymple's chart,
would therefore be 50^ minutes, which this ifland
is there carried too far to the weft ward.
In attributing this error to the chart, I fup-
pofe, as I ought, that the difference of meridian
between the two points compared, fuch as 1 have
deduced it from a mean between feveral refults of
obfervations, is fufficiently exadl ; but it may be
remarked that the Solide having failed from
Macao, and made a direct courfe in order to get
fight of Pulo-Sapata, fell in with it much fooner
than Ihe ought to have done, if the difference
of meridian was as great as it is on Mr. Dal-
rymple's Chart; and the calculation of the So-
lide's run, regard being had to the effedl of the
currents, gives this difference nearly the fame as
that which refults from the obfervations: moft
affuredjy, this is not ^ decifive proof gf the ex-
adiinefs of this determination ; but it is at leaft an
additional prefumption which muft induce French
navigators who ftiall make ufe of Dalrymple's
chart (or that of D'Après, which is the Copy of
it), for regulating their courfe in going from
Macao to Pulo-Sapata, to keep a good look-
out
Dec. 179Î.] marchand's voyage. 441
out when the chart places their fhip, at no more
than a degree to the eaftward of that ifland.
I obferve that, as it is probable that the iflots
The Two Brothers have been fubjeded on the
chart to the pofition of Pulo-Sapata, they ought
to be carried with the iCund about 50 minutes to
the eaftward.
French feamen will not have thefe corredllons
to make, if they ufe the Chart of the China Sea
publifhed by G. Robertson, which has been
conftruded from the obfervations which the Eng-
lifh navigators have multiplied fo ufcfully in thefe
latter times, and which require to be fo ftill in
order to fix with thç fame certainty the relative
pofition of that confiderable number of fcattered
iflots, overfalls, and dangers of ail kinds which
obftru6t the China Sea. '
If there is matter for aftoniOiment, it is that
Mr. Dalrymple fhould have been able to make
fo good a chart as that which he publifhed in 1771,
with courfes and diftances by account, always fo
uncertain in the midft of currents, and yet thefe
were the only data that he then had at his difpofal.
Since the difcuffion into which 1 have entered,
in order to fucceed in determining the difference
of meridian of Pulo Sapata in regard to Macao
has led me to inquire into the pofidons of fome
points of the China Sea, it will not be ufelefs
to French navigators v/ho neither polTefs G Ro-
bertson's
442 marchand's voyage, [Dec. tygl,
bertson's Memoir nor Chart, to compare the
pofitions which I give to thefe points, both with
thofe which he affigns to them in his Ta^le, and
with thofe which are to be found in the Connais-
sance DES Temps (Nautical Almanac) of theye.ar
VIII of the French era.
o
ON
ox 1
t-4
o
1^
4^
O
so
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I. Macao,
Dec. 1791.] MARCH AN d's VOYAGE.
44S
I. Macao. The latitude which is given to it
in the Connaiffance des Temps is 22° 11' 4./^!' ^ and
according to a note which was formerly commu-
nicated to me by Citizen Me chain, Aftronomer
of the Navy, Member of the National Inftitute
and of the Board of Longitude of France, it
appears that this latitude is founded on the me-
ridian altitude of the fun, taken in the College,
oh the 17th of June 1685, by Father Thomas, 4
Jefuit, with a gnomon of 48 feet*. Father Gouie -j-
made it only 22® ii' but Father Chaus-
se au me, who obferved this latitude at the College
of St. Paul, in the fummer folftice of 1753, by
3 gnomon of 25 feet, carefully fet up, found it
?2° 1 2' 40^^: and in 17 12, Fathers Ureman and
d'ALCui had found it 22*^ 13' 00^^.
The obfervations made in Cook's third voyage
gave for the latitude of the Typa 22^ 9 22^^;
and W. Bayly fays that the Typa is lefs north-
erly than Macao by 3 minutes : the latitude of
Macao would therefore be 22° lof 22". I know-
not why, according to the fame data, W. Bayly
has made it only 22° ii' 00"
G. Ro-
* Ane. Mém» de l'Académie des Sciences. Vol. Vll. page
705-
t Firft volume of his obfervations, 1682, 8vo. page 214.
J The Original Afironomlcal Ob/er^atlonsy Sec. pa-r 6.
By a mean" fays Bayly, " of a number of qbfervaticns of
meridian altitudes of the fun taken with my afironomical
quadrant.
444
marchanb's voyage. [Dec. 1791.-
G. Robertson (page 3 of his Memoir) has
made it from his own obfervations 22° 12^00^'',
and he fays that they have been corroborated by
thofe of Captains Fraser, CuMMfNG, and others. ^
If we take a mean between the feven deter-
minations which I have jud mentioned, we fhall
have 22° 12' 3 1" for the north latitude of Macao ;
and this it is which I have adopted.
I have determined its longitude at 111° 15'' 00^'
eaft from Paris (page 434 of this Vol.) by a
mean between the refuit of the obfervations made
at Canton, and that of the obfervations made
in the Typa, by W. Bayly, Captain King, and
feveral officers belonging to the Resolution. I
remark that this determination agrees with that
in the Connaiffance des TempSy obtained by a very
différent method : for in the Note communicated
to me by Citizen Me chain, it is mentioned
that the longitude inferted in the Connaijfance des
Temps is determined from ancient obfervations
of ecîipfes of the moon, of the 30th of Novem-
ber 1686, and of the 21ft of November 1695,
obferved at Macao by the Jefuits. But I am
very far from pretending that this agreement.
quadrant, and Hadlefs fextant, the latitude of the Typa is
22° 9^22" north, and that of M^rao harbour by the town
" 22° 12' north. The Typa is 3 miles fou th from the town,
" and it is one mile weft of it."
which
Dec. 1791.] MARCH and's voyage.
A-iô
which is due only to chance, ftrengthens the de-
termination which I have adopted : every one
knows what little reliance is to be placed on the
. refults of the moon's eclipfes, ftill lefs on obferva-
tions which are dated a century ago,
Robertson's longitude differs from mine by
^5 minutes in defedj but, to obtain it, he em-
ployed only the obfervations made at Canton
with the difference of meridian of Macao in
regard to this former city ; whereas I have thought
that the longitude of Macao fhould be made to
participate in the numerous obfervations which
were made in the Typa in Cook's third voyage.
The longitude which Dagelet has deduced from
his obfervations made at Macao is 111° 19' 30^'
eaft from Paris, that is.i4*^3o' more to the eafl-
ward than the determination on which I have
fixed, and 9° 45' more than that adopted by Ro-
bertson.
2. PuLO-CoNDORE. In Robertson's Memoir,
page 8, it is feen that the latitude of this ifland
is between 8° 38' and 8"^ and he has fixed
it at 8° 40', in his Table of Pofakns, That which
I have adopted is the fame, and this is the latitude
given by the obfervation of the fun's meridian
altitude, taken with fextants, at Pulo-Condore,
by W. Bayly, and by Captain King and other
officers belonging to the Resolution, on the
26th, and 27th of January 1780: the mean
refuk
44^
marchand's voyage.
[Dec. iygi,:
refult would even be rather above than below
As for the longitude, I do not differ a quarter-
of a minute of a degree from that in the Con-
naijance des Temps y but 13 minutes 38 féconds from
that which Robertson has given in TaMe of
Pojitions.
He fays (page 8 of his Memoir) " that, by the
chronometers in the Resolution, Pulo-Com-
DORE lies in longitude 106® 18^ eaft of Green-
" wicH, 1^ 42^ eaft of PuLo-AoR 5 2^ 4' eaft of
" PuLO-TiMOAN I and 2^ 5' weft of Pulo-Sa-
PATA and he fixes on the longitude of
106® 18' 00''' eaft from Greenwich.
It appears that Robertson has adhered to the
mean refult of 49 fets of lunar obfervations made
at PuLO-CoNDORE by Captain King and other
officers belonging to the Resolution, which is
io6* 18' ^6" but the mean refult of the 22 ob-
fervations by the aftronomer Bayly, is 106*^44' 2 9^''^
and I have had the more reafon to take the mean
between the two mean refults, as, if the one ap-
peared to deferve a preference to the other, it
would be that of Bayly, fmce the extremes of
his 22 individual refults differ between them only
0° 40' 7^ while the extremes of the 49 particular
refults of the obfervations in the Resolution dif-
* See The ongmal aJîro?iQ7?ncal obfervations^ &c. W,
Bayly, page 80.
fer
Dec. 1791*] MAKCHAND's VOtAGÊ.
447
fer i*^ 23' 15^''*. I have therefore placed Pulo-
CoNDORE, according to the mean of the refults
of all the obfervations made in the harbour of
that ifland in Cook's voyage, in 106° 31 '38'' eaft
from Greenwich, or 104® 11' 23'^ eaft from
Paris.
In the flieet No 51 of the fupplement to the
fécond edition of D'Après' Neptune Orient al^ is a
plan of PuLO-CoNDORE; and under the title,
ftands a note which may lead into error fuch
French navigators as are acquainted only with
this Neptune for direding their route in the feas
of Asia : " This Ijland (it is there faid) is fituated
" in 8° 40' and 45' north latitude ^ and 103° 40' weft
longitude from the meridian of Paris the firft
of thefe latitudes is the true one ; but the longi-
tude indicated is too /mall by at leaft two-thirds
of a degree.
3. PuLO-AoR. The latitude which I give to
it is the fame as that in the Connaijfance des Temps i
and each is the mean refult of the obfervations
made in Cook's third voyage.
That of Robertson differs from it by upwards
of twelve minutes in defe^-^ and this difference is
too great in a determination in latitude^ for us
not to have reafon to be furprifed at it, and to be
* Thf original aflronomUal obfer'vatwnh Sec, page 35
apprehenfive
44^ marchand's voyage. [Dec. 1791.
apprehenfive of an error on the one fide or the
other.
. Robertson fays in his Memoir (page 9), that
the latitude of Pulo-Aor is between 2° 29 and
2® 30' north; in his "Table of PofJions (page 77)
we find alfo 2° jo^; and the ifland is laid down
on his chart in 2^ 30' : thus, there is no error of
the prefs.
But W. Bayly, in his "Table of Fofttions, gives
for the latitude of Pulo-Aor, according to his
own obfervations 2° 44 oo-' : and according to
thofe of King, 2° 40' 00^''; mean 2° 42' 00''' : and
Captain King, in the narrative of the voyage fays
that, on the 31ft of January 1780, " at nine
o'clock in the evening, the weather being thick
" and hazy, and the fhips having outrun their
reckoning from the effed of fome current,
we were clofe upon Fulo-Aor, in latitude
" 2° 46' 00^^ north, before we were well aw^are of
*^ it*:" thus, neither is there here an error of
the prefs.
On which fide lies the miflake ? I dare not
pronounce. I remark, however, that Robert-
son 7nere!y fays that the latitude of Pulo-Aor
is between 2^ 29', and 2^ 30^ north ^ but he nei-
ther quotes the obfervation nor the obferver ;* and
as he is tolerably exacl, and with reafon, in quot-
ing both, when the determination is founded on
* Cook's third 'voynge. Vol. Ill, pages 463 and 464,
an
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
449
an obfervation, it may be fuppofed that he knew
of none that could fix the latitude of Pulo-
AoR *. Perhaps, for want of an obfervation, he
has taken the latitude of this ifland from Mr.
Dalrymple's Chart of the China Sea^ where it is
placed, as well as on the charts Nos. 47 and 49,
2nd of the fupplement of the 2nd edition of
D'Après' Neptune Oriental, in the fame latitude
as that afligned to it by Robertson.
We muft requeft the navigators who frequent
this fea to afcertain, whenever they have an op-
portunity, which of the two pofitipns is the true
one.
4. Pulo-Sapata. My latitude, which will be
found conformable to that given in the Connaijfance
des T empSy is the mean refult of the obfervations
made in Cook's third voyage : 10° 4' 00^' by
thofe of King f: and by thofe of Bayly J,
io° 5' o^''. Rob ER SON (page 6 of his Memoir)
fays The latitude of Pulo-Sapata I make by
* The publication of the narrative and of the original
obfervations of Cook's voyage is, however, prior by feveral
years to the publication of iRohertfon's Memoir and Chart :
Why does he not make ufe of thefe obfervations ? Why does
he not quote them? I am ignorant of the reafon. Has he
conlidered that they ought not to be admitted ? In that cafe,
he ought to have faid fo, and expofed his motives for rejeéting
them.
+ Cook's third ^voyage. Vol. III. page 447.
% The Orlg* Afiren, Qb/em), Sec* page 351,
VOL. II. c G " fatis*
marchand's voyage.
[Dec. 179Î.
Jaiisfartory ohkvvmons to be 10° \ 2^" north;*'
but as he neither adds whether thefe obferva-
tions were made by himfelf, nor by whom they
were made,. I have thought it my du|;y to ad-
here to thole the obfervers of which are known ;
and I have placed Pulo-Sapata in lo"^ 4 30^^
north latitude. It is in 10° 00' on Dalrymple's
Chart of the China Sea, and on the copy which
D*Apr£s has given.of it.
In order to fix the longitude of this ifland,
Robertson has had regard only to its mean dif-
ference of meridian, 2° 55' 00'''' with refped to
PuLO-CoNDORE, which he places according to
the obfervations made in Cook's voyage, in
loG"" 18^ co''' eaft from Greenwich, or 103^ 57^45^''
eafl from Paris, which would give 108° 53'oo''^
eaft from Greenwich for Pulo-Sapata : how-
ever, in his T able of Pojitions he carries it to
108° 55' OO', or 106° 34' 45^^ ealt from Paris.
He adds (page 7 of his Memoir) that there is
little doubt of its true longitude being fome-
where within 108° 53' and 109® eaft from
Gresnwich.''
In placing Pulo-Sapata 106^ 40' 45^^ eaft
from Paris or 109° i' 00^^ eaft from Green-
wich, I do not recede from the opinion of Ro
BERTSON ; but I obtain this refult by making th_
longitude of Sapata depend on the longitudes
obfcrved of Macao, Pulo-Condore, and Pu^
XO-AOR,
6 •
Dec. 1791-] MARCHAND'S VOYAGE.
LO-AoR, and taking a mean between the three
determinations which refult from the differences
of meridian obferved between Pulo-Sapata and
each of the three other points (page 333 of this
Vol. Notef.)
■ NOTE LXI.
On examining the diftance and the bearing
of the iflots called The Two Brothers with
refped: to Fulo-Sapata, on the Chcrrt cf the
China Sea hj Alexander Dalrymiple, and on
the General Chart of the World, confl:ru6led by-
Lieutenant Roberts to accompany the narrative
of Cook's third voyage, we find a fomewhat
confiderable difference refpe6ting the relative po-
iition which the two charts have given to the
iflots and the ifland.
On Dalrymple's chart. The Two Brothers
are fituated at the diftance of 33 miles, to the
Xiorch 17^ weft of the largeft of the Pulo-Sa-
pata : and according to Roberts's chart, that
would be to the north about 40° eaft, and at a
greater diftance than according to the former, by
10 or 15 miles, as far as the fmallnefs of the
divifions of the fcale admit of its being eft^imated.
The bearings which were taken on board the
Solide in fight of the iflots and in fight of the
îfland, the courfe which fne followed in order to
repair from one point of bearing to the other^
o a " anrî
45^ MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. I79I,
and the number of leagues which (he ran- on this
courfe, furnifli us with the data neceflary for
determining, by approximation, the relative pofi-
tion of The Two Brothers and Pulo-Sa-
PATA.
On the nth at forty minutes paft four o'clock
în the afternoon. The Two Brothers bore weft
by fouth, at the diftance of about 5 leagues or
15 miles: thus, comparatively to the point where
the bearings were taken they were 2.9 miles more
to the fouthward, and 14.7 miles more to the
weftward than the fhip.
At three quarters pafc midnight, the largeft of
the Pulo-Sapata bore diredly vvefl:, diftant 5
miles.
On reducing into a fingle courfe all thofe which
the Solide ran in the interval from one bearing
to another*, we find that fhe made 18.5 miles
fouthing and 3.25 miles eafting.
Çut I remark that, on comparing the latitude
obferved on the nth at noon (Journal of the"
Route) n° 14, with that of Pulo-Sapata (on
the parallel of which the fliip was at the moment
of the bearing being taken at three quarters paft
hours. milés. hours. miles.
* From 4I to ^ SV^ 4° S. . 2.0 From 8 to 9 SSE 1.5
From 5 to 6 SW by S. . 6.Ç From 9 to 1 1 SE 6.0
From 6 to 7 SSE f E. . i.25Trom 11 to 12 SE by S. . 3.0
Froni 7 to B SE by S. . 1.5 I From 12 to i2| SSE i.f
midnight>
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
i53
midnight), that is to fay, with 10*4 30'^*, it is
feen that, from noon to three quarters paft mid-
night, the lliip's real progrefs towards the fouth
had been i"" ^9-5 n^il^s: and, as accord-
ing to the dead reckoning, the apparent progrefs
towards the fame fide, and in the fame interval
of time, had been only 41.5 miles j-^ it follows
chat the dead reckoning had been in error 28
miles, in the fpace of 1 2I hours 5 and propor-
tionably, in the fpace of 8 hours and 5 minutes,
clapfed between the time of taking the firft bear-
ing and that of taking the fécond, the error muft
have been 17.74 miles: adding this latter quan-
tity to 18.5 miles apparent progrefs towards the
fouth, we fhall have the real or corrected pro-
grefs, in the interval from one bearing to the
other, 36.24 miles.
The parallel of the point whence the fécond
bearing was taken, which is the parallel of Pu-
lo-Sapata, is therefore lefs northerly than the
* According to the obfervations made in Cook*s third voyage
(page 351 of the colleftion) the latitude ot Fulo-Sapata is,
according to King 10° 4'; according to Bay^v 10** 5'; by a
mean 1 0° 4I
+ From noon to 40 minutes paft four ©'clock on the nth
the courfes had been SW 28 miles and SW. 4^ S. 4 miles,
which gives 23 miles fouthing, and as the progrefs towards
this fame lide from 40 minutes paft 4 to three quarters paft mid-
night had been 18.5 miles, that the whole of the progrefs from
noon to three quarters paft midnight, was 41.5 miles.
G G 3 parallel
454
MAKCliAND's VOYAGE. [Dec. l/gtv
parallel of the point whence the firft was taken,
by 36.24 miles; but The Two Brothers were
lefs northerly than the point of the firft bearing
by 2.9 miles : they are therefore more north-
erly than Pulo-Sapata, by 36.24 miles minus
2.9 miles, or 33 34 miles.
Admitting the progrefs towards the eafl, in
the interval of the two bearings, from 40 mi-
nutes pafh four o'clock to three quarters pail
twelve, fuch as it is given by the run by account,
the point of the former is more wefterly than
that of the latter by 3.25 miles: and as Pu-
ho- Sap AT A is more wefterly than that of the
latter, by 5 miles, it is more wefterly than that
of the former, by 1.75 miles. But The Two
Brothers are more wefterly than the point of the
former bearing by 14.7 miles : therefore they are
more wefterly than Pulo-Sapata, by 13 miles in
round numbers*
On the other hand, we have feen that the
Two Brothers are more northerly than Pulo-
Sapata, by 33.34 miles: on combining this
quantity which they are more to the weftward
with that which they are more to the northward
than the iftand, it will be found that The Two
Brothers are with refpe6]: to the great. Pulo-
Sapata, north 21° 20' weft, and at the diftance
of 3 f miles.
This relative pofition differs from that given
them
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
them by Dalrymple's chart, which places the
iflots to the north 17° weft of the ifland, and at
the diftance of 33 miles.
Although by the method which I have em-
ployed for afcertaining this pofition, there can
be obtained only a refult of approximation^ that
refult, however, is fufficiently exad for conclud-
ing with certainty, that thefe two points are bet-
ter placed, with regard to each other, on Dal-
rymple's chart than on that confl:ru6led by Ro-
berts for Cook's voyages, fince on the latter, we
fee The Two Brothers fituated at the diftance of
40 or 50 miles, to the north 40° eaft of the great
Pulo-Sapata.
iV. The remarks which Captain Mar-
chand and Captain Chanal had an apportunity
of making on the ftrength and direélion of the
currents in the China Sea, till they quitted that
Sea by the Strait Between Banca and Billiton
and that of Sunda, are to be found in the Nar-
RATIFY itfelf, under the dates of the 15th, i8th^
i^thy and 25th of December.
G G 4
NOTE
45^ MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. I79I.
NOTE LXII.
JNALTSIS of the general Chart of the two Straits
fituated between the Ifland of BANCA and that
ef BILLITON, known by the name of GAS-
PAR'S STRAir and CLEMENTS' STRAIT,
with failing dire^ions relative to the two fajfages,
(See the general chart Plate VII, and the par-
ticular Chart Plate VIII),
The eaft coaft of the Ifland of Banc a and
the weft coaft of the Ifland of Billiton leave
between them a large paflage which was at firft
known only by the name of Caspar's Strait,
becaufe D'Après de Mannevillette publiflied,
in 1775, the firft Plan of this Strait (No. 48 of
the fécond edition of his Nepune Oriental), under
the title of Petit Plan du Détroit a l*Est de
Banc A, par lequel apajfê un navire Efpagnol com"
mandé par le Sieur Caspar, ' no date*. But,
in 1781, Captain John Clements, commanding a
fleet of Englifh Eaft-Indiamen, croflfed between
Banca and Billiton by another paflTage than
that through which Caspar had paflTed 5 and,
fince, feveral Englifti and French navigators have
pafTed through both, and given us particular charts
of them. This ftrait has long been frequented by
the Portuguefes but it is well known that the
navigators of that nation publifli nothing.
• Alexander Dalrymple has given a copy of it in his collec-
tion of Plans of the Seas of Afia,
The
pec. J 791 •] marchand's VOYAGE. 457
The great Strait Between Banca and Billi -
TON, whofe width is about fourteen leagues from
the one ifland to the other, is divided into two
arms by a fmall ifland which the Englifh have
named Middle Ifland, and which is alfo called
Passage Ifland.
This Strait therefore affords two Paflages : the
former, or the west Passage, between Banca
and Middle Ifland , the latter, or the east Pas-
sage, between Middle Ifland and Billiton.
We have five charts of the west Passage : the
firft is that of Captain Caspar, which alfo com-
prehends the east Passage : but the latter is
there reprefented in a manner which muft induce
the belief that it is impradicable.
The fécond is a manufcript chart of Dorde-
LiN, an officer belonging to the French navy,
commanding the fhips Triton, Provence, and
Sagittaire, who paflTed through the west Pas-
sage, in going to China, in 1784, and on his
return in 1785 : he has annexed to it views of
the land and a few remarks.
The third is that of Captain Lestock Wilson>
an Englifliman commanding the fliip Carnatic,
coming from China in 1787 : Mr. Dalrymple
has publiflied it in his colledlion of Plans, and has
printed the journal and obfervations ] of Captain
Wilson, in his colleélion of Memoirs, &c. This
chart deferves particular attention, becaufe the
intelligent and enlightened navigator by whom it
4^5. marchand's voyage. [Dec. 1791,
was conftruéted, has there, drawn all the angles of
bearing inferted in his journal, to which the chart
is faithfully fubjeéled ; and the different points are
conneded with each other by trigonometrical ope-
rations : we remark above all that frequently,
fi'om the fame flation, two points are fet by each
other or by oppofite ^rhumbs : as, for inftance,
one point by another, north by eaft j or elfe, a
point north by eaft, at the fame time that he fet
another fouth by weft : and it is well known that
bearings of this fort are the only ones which, for
fixing relative pofitions, prefent an inconteftable
cxa6tnefs.
The fourth chart is that of Captain John Pas-
cal Larkins, commanding the fhip Warren
Hastings, coming from China in 1788; it was
publifhed in the coiledion of Mr. Dalrymple's
plans, and the Journal, in his collection of Ide-
moirs, I wifh it were in my power to beftow the
fame praife on this chart as on that of Captain
Wilson; but it is feldom found to agree with the
Journal, according to which it ought to have been
conftrudedj and the lands on it feem fcattered
and reprefented at random ; fortunately, his jour-
nal furnifhes data which may be employed very
ufefully in the plan of Gaspar's Strait.
The fifth, in fhort, is the chart which was
conftru6ted in 1791, by Captain Chanal, and
the Engineer Le Brun, on board the fhip So-
lide, commanded by Captain Marchand, com-
ing
Dec. 1791»]
marchand's voyage.
459
ing from China, and the data of v/hich are to
be found in the NARRATIVE OF THE VOT^.
JGE vol. I. at the dale of the, 21ft, 22nd, and 23rd
■of December, 1791.
^ We have but three plans of the East Pas-
sage ; and they can be reckoned only as two.
The firft is that of Captain John Clements,
commanding a fleet of Indiamen : he is, as I have
already faid, the firft known navigator who at-
tempted in 1781 to pafs through the East Pas^
SAGE, and ftruck out this new track to the fhips
of his nation. The nam^e of Clements' Strait
distinguifhes it from the West Passage or Gas-
par's Strait, The plan of this Strait was con-
ftrudled by George Robertson^ an officer em-
ployed on board the Commodore's fbip, the Van-
sittart*'; Mr. Dalrymple v/as the firft who
publiftied it, in his Colleofmz in 1786: and, in
1788, Robertson brought out a Plan of Gafpar's
and Clements' Straits, together, without any fcalc
of latitude, like that of 1786, but with a fcale
of marine miles of 25 lines to a mile. In the
fame year, he publiOied a chart of the Straits
of Banca, Gafpar^ and Clements^ united in the fame
flieeton a fcale of fix inches to a degree. On
both are drawn the tracks of the diixerent Englifli
navigators who have paiïed through thefe Straits,
From this expofition of Robertson's labour^
* This is a miftake : though Robertson was on board th
<J^ajtfiiîart, Û\t QQmméàQït'% fliip was the G/fl/^e«# Tranjlatar»
which
^6o marchand's voyage- [I)ec. 1791.
which appears to have been performed with equal
care and intelligence, it feems that it might have
been fufficient to copy his chart or his pian, and
to add to it the track of the French navigators
but I hope that the feamen who fhall read the
analyfis of the new^ chart which I prefent to them,
will be of opinion that Robertson's chart and
plan flood in need of fome corre6lions ; and, no
doubt, a longer acquaintance with thefe ftraits will
foon prove that this new chart itfelf is fufeptible
of improvement, I will not diffemble, that it
ftill leaves much to be wifhed for: what! does
not every one know that a fea chart is never
finifhed ?
The fécond plan of the East Passage is a
chart of Captain Allen Cooper, commanding
the fhip Atlas, in 1785, and coming from the
fouthward. This chart is comprifed in the Col-
lection of Mr. Dalrymple who has alfo publifhed,
in his coUedion of Memoirs^ Captain Cqoper's
Journal j all the points there correfpond very
exadtly with the bearings inferred in the journal.
Of thefe fix charts or plans (for that of Gas-
par is too defeclive in every part for it to be made
^ny ufe of), I have formed a general chart which
comprehends the two Passages, and pre fen ts the
whole of the great Strait Between Banca
AND Billiton: the plans of the West Pas-
sage are conne6ted to thofe of the East Pas-.
SAGE by Gasfar's and Middle Iflands which
arc
Dec. 1791.] marchand's voyage.
are common to the two paflages, and from which
bearings have been taken on the two routes. But
in order to enable enlightened navigators to judge
of this new chart, I muft difcufs the materials of
which I have made ufe, and examine, point by-
point, and contradidlorily, the journals and charts,
which, till this day, have come to my knowledge.
I begin by the analyfis of the West Passage ;
and, in going from the northward to the fouth-
ward, it will lead us to the points which are com-
mon to the two paflages.
1. The northern coaft of Bança, from Point
Pesant to its East Point, was drawn from the
journal and chart of Captain Chanal, who took
bearings of the different points.
The four Breakers fituated to the north-eaft of
Point Brisée of Banca and marked on my chare
a, b, c, d, as well as the ifles and iflots to the
caftward of that point, were in like manner fub-
jeded to bearings taken on board the Solide*
which,
* On the ?ift of December 179 1, at three quarters pad 4,
P. M. Point Bn/ee, bore S. 30'' W. the firft ifland on the coaft,
to the eaftward of this point, S. from 17 to 20' W: the fécond
ifland S. from 10 to 12° W.
Captain Marchan» hauled clofe on a wind on the larboard
tack, with a frefti breeze at N. N. W. in order to avoid a
breaker which was perceived to the fouthward.
At 4 minutes after 5, this breaker bore S. 1 8° W. 2 or 3
miles.
At 1 2 minutes after 5, a fécond breaker fhewed itfelf to the
north I f eaft diftant 1 1- or 2 miles.
At
4^2 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [DeC. ly^î'
■which, as is feen by her track drawn on the
chart and mentioned in the narrative, paffed be-
tween
At the fame inftant, a third feen to the fouth 3'° 30'
weft, at the diftance of 3 or 4 miles.
The Solids bore up to the fouth-eaft in order to clear u
, fourth breaker which was feen ahead.
At 50 minutes after 5, the firft ifiand that had been fet, bore
from fouth -13^ to fouth 49° weft ; the fécond, from fouth 38 to
40° weft.
At 2 minutes after fix, the fourth breaker which had been
feen, bore folith 67^ eaft, diftant 4 or 5 miles.
From three quarters paft four, the foundings had been 12, 13,
and 14 fathoms, over a bottom of fand, gravel, and broken
{hells : the fame bottom continued till | paft 6, when Cap-
tain Marchand came to an anchor, in 14 fathoms, with the fame
kind of bottom.
During the night, there was a moderate breeze from the
north-weft with clear v/eather : the currents fet faintly to the
fourh-fouth-eaft and eaft-fouth-eaft.
On the 22nd at break of day, the following bearings were
taken: Point Br'ife S. \ W. the third ifiand, from fouth
35"^ 30' to fouth 38° weft — the fourth ifland, from fouth t
to fouth 4^ 30' weft.
Captain Marchand got under way at 50 minutes paft 7, and
fleered S. S. E. ^ E : ftill carrying 14 fathoms, over a bottom
of fand, gravel, and broken iliells.
At 50 minutes after 8, Point Bnjh weft 1° 30' fouth — thé
third ifiand, from fouth 56^ to fouth 67° 30' weft— The fourth
ifiand, from fouth 34° 30' to fouth 35° 30' weft— at 40 minutes
paft 9, the third ifland from fouth 83° to fouth 84° weft ; and the
fourth or laft ifland, from fouth 67° to fouth 70° weft. This
laft appears to be furrounded by breakers.
From that moment. Captain Marchand ftood fouth eaft by
fouth — foundings from 14 to 13 fathoms, conftantly the fame
kind of bottom, till 4 minutes after 11, when having perceived
from
Bec. 1791.] -MARCH AN d's VOYAGE. 463
tween the four Breakers to the north of Banc a,
in the midfl: of which fhe anchored. The Mas-
car in, commanded by our Captain Crozet, in
1773, had palTed and anchored there like the
Solide*, and it appears that, as far back as 1702,
the Engliib galley the Macclesfield had taken
her route through thefe Breakers! . These two
are the fame that Captain Williams in the Su-
livan faw and took bearings of in December
1784; but it appears, from v/hat is faid in his
journal, that h^ faw three only ; and, on fetcing
off thefe bearings on my chart, we conceive that
the Breakers which he faw are the three wefterly
ones, and that he did not perceive the fourth,
fituated to the eailward of thefe. The Journal of
from the mafthead Gafpar Ifland to the eail 6^ fouth, he fleered
S. E. by E.
At a quarter pail 1 1, the high mountain of Banc a bore from
S. 13° to S. 42° W. : Hill 14 fathoms, imth the fame kmd of
hottom*
* See her track drawn on the chart No. 49 2nd of the fécond
edition of D'Après Neptune Oriental : a copy of it is to be found
in Alexander Dalrymple s collection of Plans.
Mr. Balryinple has publifhed, under the date of the 17 th of
December 1781, a Vle-^ of Banca^ of the iAots and the break-
ers, taken from the point where Crozet had anchored. This
plan, which is inferred in his ColleMiony is to be found there
under the title of Tlan of the Place njohere Monfleur Crozef
anchored (latitude 1° 56' fouth) on the eajï fide of Banca, on the
23rd of March 1773.
f Farther on will be found an extrsét from his journal, taken
from the colleflion of Memoiru publifhed by Alexander Dal-
rjmple*
the
464
marchand's voyage. [Dec. 1791.
the Sulivan makes no mention of the fmall
iflands : it is only faid there that, at noon of thcday
on which, in the afternoon, the Breakers were
difcovered, there was feen, from the mail-head^
an ifland to the fouth-fouth-weft ; but the weather
was fo over-caft, thatBANCA could not be feen*.
In following on D'Après* Chart (No. 49 2nd)
the Track of the Mascarin which came from the
caftward, it is feen that Crozet had firft per-
ceived the Breakers which are fituated to the
north by weft of Caspar Ifland (the principal
leading mark in the Strait) ; and that before he
had reached the four Breakers to the northward
* Extradl from the journal of the Sulivan, Captain Stephen
Williamsy coming from China^ taken from the Collection of
memoirs publiflied by Alexander Dalrymple, Appendix to me-
Tnolrs of Charts of Sunda and Banca^ pages 15 and 16.
« On the 25th of December 1784, At 6 A. M. the wea-
ther clearing a little, faw the ifland of Banca S. W. by W.
" At 8 A. M. faw a high body of land from S. by W. to
" W. by N. which is the land we firft faw; diftant from the
** neareft (hore about 5 leagues.'*
At noon faw an ifland from the maft-head S. S. W. being
" very cloudy could not (tç, Banca.*'
At half paft 2 P. M. faw three J/^oals of Breakers, one
** bearing about S. S. W. 3 miles diftant — another S. E. by
" S. 3 miles, and another E. N, E. about 4 miles."
I immediately hauled my wind to the northward. (Wind
N. W. courfe N. N. E.)"
" At half paft 4 P. M. the northernmoft breakers bore S. E,
•* by E. f E. diftant full two miles; on the breakers tliere ap-
^* peared tuooox three rocks above water.**
4 of
Dec. 1791-] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. 4^5
of Banca, he had fecn in the interval z Jolitary
Breaker which is laid down on D'Après' chart,
and which I have thought neceffary to preferve on
mine, becaufe, if its pofition be doubtful, its ex-
iftence is certain. The Solide's track palTes three
leagues to the eaftward of this folitary Breaker:
it was not feen by Captain Marchand s buta
Breaker which, perhaps, does not always break,
may probably not be perceived at three leagues'
diftance.
II. Let us endeavour to fix the latitude of
Caspar Ifland, the principal leading mark for
fhips that are bound through the ftraits from
the northward.
On the old Plan publifhed by D'Après, No.
48 of the fécond edition of his Neptune Oriental,
Caspar Ifland, under the name of lie du Pas-
sage (Passage Ifland), is placed in 6' fouth
latitude. This latitude is certainly fmaller than
the true, by upwards of a quarter of a degree :
but how had it been obferved ? by whom ? and
with what inftrument ?
On D'Après' Chart No 49 2nd, a copy of
which is to be found in Mr. Dalrymple's Col-
ledion, and on which is marked a track of
Crozet, in 1773, which pafTes to the north-
ward of the flraits and pretty near Caspar Ifland,
the latitude of the middle of this ifland is 2® 17';
VOL. II, H H but
4^6 marc-hand's voyage. [Dec. 1791.
but we are ignorant by what proceeding it was de-
termined.
Robertson's Plan, inferted in Mr. Dalrym-
ple's coHedion, under the date of 1786, has no
fcale of latitude : in that which Robertson him-
felf publifhed in 1788, and which differs from the
former only by its being on a larger fcale, and
alfo comprehending Caspar's Strait, we read
IÙ the parallel which palTes through the peak
of Caspar's Lland, Latitude South 2" 20' i but it
is not mentioned that this latitude was obferved ;
we are even juftified in thinking that it was not^
for we remark that the fmallefl diftance at which
Clements was from the ifland, is 26 miles to
the fouth-eaft: and if, in this pofition, he had
deduced the latitude of Caspar Ifland from fo
difadvantageous a bearing, efpecially when it is
combined with fo great a diflance, this determina-
tion could not but be very doubtful. Indeed, it
does not appear that Robertson has adopted it
exclufively : for in his Table of Latitudes and
Longitudes which is to be found at the end of
the Memoir that he publifhed with his hand-
fome Chart of the China Sea*^ the Peak of
Caspar Ifland is placed in latitude 2° 27',
though, on his Plan of the Strait, it is laid
down in 2° 30', and though, in his chart of the
* Memoir of a Chart of the China Seay &c, hy George Ro'
bert/ony London, 179b 4to, page 123.
4 Straits
Dec. 1791-3
marchand's voyage.
467
Straits of BancUy G a/par and Clement s y it is alfo
2° 30' : and, in the fame Table, he gives a fécond
latitude of the fame point of Caspar Ifland, of
2° 25^35'''': this lafl is accompanied by the mark
j-, which indicates the pofitions deduced from
the obfervations of Captains Huddart, Hodg-
son, and Wilson, " which," he fays, " are
feemingly well determined."
Dor DEL IN, in a manufcript Memoir, relates
that, on the 3rd of Auguft 1784, Caspar Ifland
bore from him at noon, from north-eaft by north
3° 45' north to north- north-eaft, diftant 5 leagues:
which places the fouth coaft of the ifland in 2° 22'^
and its peak in 2° 2 1 ^ i
On the 23rd of February 1785, on his return
from China, the obferved latitude of the fhip was
2° 24', and Caspar Ifland bore at the fame mo-
ment, from eaft 15° fouth to eaft 26° fouth, at the
diftance of 3>or 4 miles at moft : which gives
2° 24' 30^-^ for the north coaft of the ifland, and
2° 25' 15// for the Peak.
On the fame day the captain of the fliip the
Provence (a man of great reputation, fays Dor-
delin), which was failing in company with the
Triton, had an obferved latitude of ^ 22', which
would give for the Peak of the ifland 2° 23' 15'''.
Captain Cooper, in 1785, fays, in his printed
Journal, page 24, that, on the 8 th of Auguft, he
took his departure from Caspar Ifland, as it
H H 2 bore
468
marchand's voyage. [Dec. 1791,
bore at noon of that day, north T9"caft diftant
4 or 5 miles. The latitude of the fliip, ob-
ferved at noon, was 2° 33', whence we conclude
that the latitude of the ifland, according to the
bearing, is 2° 28' /s.^" \ but the obfervation is
marke;d indifferent^ that is neither good nor bad,
doubtful ; and we muft imagine that Cooper did
not confider himfelf bound to adhere to it; for,
after having faid in his Journal, that he places
Caspar Ifland in latitude 2*^ 30' fputh, we find it
placed on his chart, in 2° 21' 20^', at its middle.
Captain Wilson, in 1787, deduced from his
obfervations and from his bearings in the Strait
the latitude of Caspar Ifland 2^ 22' 00^^ (p^g^
28 of his printed Journal) but it is not mentioned
to what point of the ifland he applies it : on his
chart, the north coafl: of the ifland is in 2° 1 9', the
Peak, in 2® 20', and the fouth coafl, in 21'.
Captain Larkins, in 1788, having got aground
on the Shoal which he difcovered to the north-
wefl; of Caspar Ifland, there obferved the lati-
tude (page 16 and 17 of his Journal) : on the 2nd
of May 2^ 22'; on the 3rd, 2° 23'; on the 4th,
2° 22' j by a mean, 2° 22' io\ and the point where
he fl:ruck is laid down on his chart of the Strait
in 2° 23'.
But he fays (page 16,) that from this very point,
the centre of Caspar Ifland bore fouth 70° eafl:,
diftant 6 miles : tliis ifland v/ould therefore be
according
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE, 469
according to the bearing 5f' more to the fouth-
ward than the point where he ftruck, and confe-
qiiently in i"" 28' 40^-^; but, on his chart, it is
placed in 25' 45^^ I am ignorant of the caufe
of this difference; but it will be feen hereafter
that there muft be an error in the diftances efti-
mated by the eye ; for it is impoffible to make
thefe diftances agree with the angles of bearing
taken, from the place where the lliip got aground,
to the middle of Gaspar Ifland and to the middle
of Rocher Navire, the Tree Island of the
Englifh.
On the 22nd of December 17 91, Captains
Marchand andCnANAL deduced from their ob-
iervations at noon the latitude of the Solide,
2° 2i', and as the Peak of Caspar Ifland bore,
at the fame inftant, diredly eaft of the Ihip, its
latitude is the fame as that of the Solide*.
On recapitulating all the latitudes of Caspar
Ifland which I have mentioned:
Caspar's Plan 2 5 00
Crozet's Track 2 17 00
(Memoir P ^7 00
Robertson's < t ^ ^5 35
2 30 00
I^Plan and Chart . . |
* See the Jourtml of the Route at the date of the 22nd of
J)ec. 1791.
H H 3 Dor-
470
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
[Dfic. 179t.
o , If
DORDELIN, 1784 . 2 21 15
DORDELIN, 1785 2 25 15
The Ihîp the Provence 2 23 15
3 On his chart 2 21 20
C Journal 2 22 00
W^'-^^^ lOn his chart 2
Lar
KINS
20 00
r Journal 2 28 40
lOn his chart 2 25 45
MarchandI "J
and VJ ournal and chart V 2 21 00
Chanal \ \
it is feen that, with a great number of détermina*
tions, the latitude of Gasp a r Ifland cannot be
determined in an inconteftible manner. Navi-
gators, no doubt> will not be willing to admit
the firfl two, the foundations of which are un*
known, and which befides differ too much from
thofe that have been fubfequently obferved 3 thofc
of Dor DELI N and of the fhip the Provence
depend on eftimated diftances : thofe of the Eng-
lifli prefent, in general, one quantity in their
Journals, and another quantity on their charts ;
the latitude determined by Captains Marchand
and Chanal is the only one againfl: which no
objedlion can be made -, the fhip was exaélly on
the parallel of the Peak of Caspar Ifland, at
the moment when a good obfervation gave 2° 21'
for
Dec. 1791.] marchand's voyage.
471
for the latitude ; I remark, befides, that this dé-
termination is the fame as that of Dor del in in
1784; the fame as that which Cooper has em-
ployed on his chart 5 the fame, within a minute,
as that given by Captain Wilson whofe obferva-
tions are reputed corred. I add another remark
to the firfl:. Navigators know that it is very dif-
ficult to determine with exa6lnefs the latitudes of
points fituated near the equator, efpecially in the
months when the fun has little declination, be-
caufe the meridian altitude of the fun cannot be
obferved with precifion, when the luminary culmi-
nates near the zenith of the obferver* : now the
obfervation of Captains Marchand and Cha-
NAL was made on the 22nd of December, a day
of the fummer folftice in the auftral hemifphere,
that is, at one of the periods of the year the
moft favourable for having, at noon, the fun lefs
near the zenith, when the obferver is in the paral-
lels in the vicinity of the equator; whereas
Cooper having obferved on the 8th of Auguft;
DoRDELiN, on the 3rd of Auguft and 23rd of
February -, Larkins, on the 2nd of May and fol-
lowing days i thofe navigators muft have had the
* It is to this difficulty of obferving exaftly the meridian
altitudes of the fun near the zenith, that muft be attributed the
great diiferences that are remarked between the latitudes which
difFerent feamen, good obfervers, have given to the fame points
of the weft coaft of Africa fituated in the vicinity of the equi-
noftial line.
. H H 4 fun
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. 179I.
fun much nearer the zenith than the obfervers of
the Solide had, I am therefore of opinion that,
without fearing to be fufpe6led of too favourable
a prepoffeflion for the obfervation of thefe laft,
I can grant it the preference to the others, and
place the Peak of Gaspar Ifland in latitude 2** 21'
fouth.
As for its longitude, it may be determined by
approximation.
In G. Robertson's Table, we find two pofi-
tions which differ little from each other : the firft,
marked *, 107^4' eaft: from Greenwich, or 104°
43'45^'eaft from Paris, is that which Robcrtfon
has difcufled and which he has employed in his
chart of the China Sea* : the fécond, marked
107^7' 15' eaft from Greenwich, or 104° 7' eaft
from Paris, is that which Wilson's obferva-
tions have given; but it will be 104° 48' 45'^ if
we place Pulo-Aor, from which he deduced its
longitude by a chronometer, in 102° 19' 45'' weft
from Par IS f.
* Mr. Robert/on has varied refpeéting the longitude of Gaf^
far ifland : for it has juft been feen that, in his Table of Pofi^
tions, publiflied in 1790, he gives this longitude 107° 4' eaft
from Greenwich, and this is within 2 minu es, that of his
Chart of the China Sea, publiflied the fame year on which Gaf»
par is placed in 107° 2'; but on his chart of the Straits of
Banca, Gafpar, and Clements, I/88, and on his large Plan
ofGafpars and Clements* Straits, the fame year, it was 106°
53', and 106° 54'.
Captain
I Dec. 179 !•] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. 473
Captain Cooper (page 24 of his Journal) fays
that he has placed Caspar Ifland, by his chrono-
meter corre^edy in longitude 106° 55' eaft from
Greenwich, or 104'' 34' 45^^ eaft from Paris.
But Mr. Dalrymple, who in his colledion of
Memoirs y has printed Cooper's original Journal,
obferves, in an introdudion which he has pre-
fixed to this Journal (page iv) that at the time
when this navigator paffed the Strait, his chrono-
meter did not give the longitude with competent
precifion.
Captain Chanal, in comparing his dead rec-
koning, corrected by allowing for the effedl of the
currents, to the longitude of the North point of
Banca, fuch as it is given on D'Après' chart,
reckoned that the longitude of the Ihip, on the
22nd at noon, was 104° 12' eaft from Paris : and,
as at this period, the diftance from the Peak of
Caspar Ifland, eftimated by the eye, was 28 or 29
miles eaft, he makes the longitude of the Peak
104° 40' or 41.
In taking a mean between the determinations
which I have juft mentioned ; but excluding the
third, which differs too much from the other three,
and granting fomething more to that of Wilson
than to the firft two, we might place the Peak of
+ See Note LX. pages 437 and 442 are the longitude which
Rolertfon has given to Pulo-Aor and that which I have de-
duced : Wil/on's chronometer gave him îox Ga/par 2° 29' eaft
from A9r, (See Jiis Journal page 28.)
Caspar
474 marchand's voyage. [Dec. 1791.
Caspar îfland in longitude 104° 45' go^^ weft from
Paris, or 107° 5^15'^ weft from Greenwich.
III. After Gaspar ifland, which as I have faid,
is properly the leading mark for çhe entrance of
the ftrait, in coming from the northward, the
point that it is of moft importance to fix, is the
dangerous fhoal which Captain Larkins difco-
vered in 1788, on which his ftiip remained aground
for three days, and which may be called the
Warren Hastings' Shoal, from the name of
his ftiip : unfortunately, the contradidtion that is
to be found between his journal and his chart
leaves a great uncertainty refpedling the real pofi^
tion of this flioal in regard to Caspar Ifland and
Tree Ifland -, but at leaft navigators will be ap-
prifed that they have to avoid a flioal fituated to
the weft-north-weft of the ifland. I fliall com-
pare the bearings and diftances, fuch as they ap-
pear in the Journal taken from the point where the
ftiip ftruck on the eaft edge of the flioal, with
the bearings and diftances of the fame points fuch
as they ftand on the chart.
In the Journal fpage 16. J On th€ Chart,
i Is not on the chart.
pThe eaft point of Ban-
The extremes of Banca, | ca S. 35^ W. The
from S. 22° W. to S.^ lands more to the
52° W. I weftward are not de-
L lineated on it.
The
The high land of Ban
ca, S. 58° W.
Dec. 179!.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
475
In the Journal (page 16) On the Chart.
The centre of Caspar"^
ifland S. 70"^ E. diftant 6 ^ S. E. 6 miles,
miles. -J
Tree IQand ; or ^o.^Y^^.^aiy hxxth oi tht
cher-Navire S. 17 K ^^^1^
E. diftant 9 miles. J
The comparifon of the pofitions given in Lar-
KiNs's Journal and of thofe which he has employed
in his Chart, is fufficient, without any obferva-
tion, to fhew the want of agreement.
Let us firft endeavour to place Tree Ifland
(Rocher Navire) in the pofition which it ought
to have with refpeét to Gaspar Ifland ; we fliall
afterwards fee how it will be poflible to fubjedt
the Warren Hastings' Shoal to thefe two
points, by the bearings which Larkins took of
them, while he lay aground.
Wilson, page 4 of his Journal, fays that, paf-
fing to the weftward of Tree Ifland, Gaspar
Ifland bore in one with it, north 62° eaft, or eaft
28° north j but this linear direétion, on his chart,
is that of the centres of the two objeâ:s ; and
the moft fouthern part of the ifland there lies, with
refpe6b to the moft fouthern part of Tree Ifland,
eaft 22^; or 23° north. The bearing of thefe laft
two points is exadtly the fame on Dordelin's
manufcript chart, on Robertson's large plan,
and on Larkins's chart: and the Solide, in
' pafling
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [DeC. I79K
pafllng to the weftward of Tree Ifland, at the
diftance of about five miles, had the fouth point
of Caspar in one with the fouth iflot of Trejs
Ifland, bearing eaft 23^ north*. On Robert-
son's large Plan, the centres of the two obje6ls,
as well as their moft fouthern points lie in like
manner, with refped to each other eaft-north-eaft
and weft-fouth- weft. This bearing of the centre '
of Tree Ifland, to the fouth 62° weft, or weft,
fouth, from the centre of Caspar Ifland,
therefore, appears afcertained in fuch a manner
that it may be employed with fafety j and it is,
no doubt vaguely, that Captain Cooper fays, in
his Journal, that Tree Ifland is to the fouth- weft
of Caspar Ifland ; for, on his chart, he has placed
the fouth iflot to the weft 22 or 23° fouth of Cas-
par.
As to the diftance of Tree Ifland from Cas-
par Ifland, the Plan of Dordelin f who pafîèd
between them both, in going to and coming from
China, and anchored there, gives us the width of
the channel, from coaft to coaft, 5^ miles, and it
is the fame on Robertson's large plan, and
there are feen four tracks of fliips, marked be-
tween Caspar Ifland and Tree Ifland.
Captain Wilson, (page 28 of his Journal) has
* See the Narrative, vol. II. at the date of the 22nd of De-
cember, 1 79 1.
+ The fcaîe of this Plan is 7 inches 7 lines to a degree.
concluded
Dec. 1791.] marchand's voyage*
concluded from his different bearings, taken from
a bafe which he meafured by the fiiip's way, that
this width was 6.64 miles ; but he does not fay
whether it be from ccafi to coajly or from centre to
centre ; on the chart, this diftance of 6.64 miles,
is that from coall to coaft j and that from centre
to centre is there about 7^ miles. The method
which he employed for meafuring the width of
the channel is not fufceptible of very great pre-
ciiion : but, in combining fome other bearings
which he took in the ftrait, and particularly thofe
from his ftation we find that the diftance from
Tree lOand to Caspar Ifland, taken from centre
to centre, may be reduced to 7.2 miles in lieu of
7.5. I obferve, befides, that there is never any
inconvenience in prefenting on a chare a chan-
nel a little narrower than it really is, and that there
is a great deal in prefenting it too wide.
In faying that there is no danger in diminifh-
ing a little the width of the channel between
Caspar Ifland and Tree îfland, I fhall not pro-
pofe however, to reduce it to miles, as it is
ieen on Captain Larkins's chart: this navigator
did not pafs through the channel ; from afar he
eftimated the diftance from the one ifland to the
other, while he lay aground on the Warren
Hastings's Shoal. It appears that he has judged
no better of the diftance from his fhoal to Tree
Ifland, on the one hand, and to Caspar IJland,
on
47S marchand's voyage. [Dee. ijgt^ |
on the other : and we muft choofe between his j"
angles of bearing and his eftimated diftances, j
which it is [impolTible to make agree. But we 1
cannot hefitate refpe6ting the choice ; the angles |
were meafured the compafsy and this meafure i
muft be as exadt as the nature of the inftru- j
ment allows of, whereas the diftances were efti- |
mated by the eye^ and all feamen know that, efpe-
f cially when fmall iflands are in queftion, errors
fomewhat confiderable may be committed in efti-
mations of this nature.
We are convinced that the diftance which Lar-
KiNS has eftimated between Tree IQand and Gas-
par Ifland, is too fmall, and thofe which he has
fuppofed between each of thofe two points and the
Warren Hastings's Shoal, are fo too. In or-
der to learn by approximation thefe two laft-
mentioned diftances, I have made ufe of the dif-
tance between the two iflands, which I have before
eftabliftied of 7.2 miles from centre to centre^ and of
their bearing fouth 62° weft and north 62° eaft,
which has been well afcertained.
With thefe data and the angles of bearing taken
by Captain Larkins, from the place where he lay
as:round on the Warren Hastings's Shoal to
Tree Ifland, on the one hand, and on the other
to the centre of Gaspar Ifland, we may fix the
diftance of the flioal to each of thefe points.
In order to abridge the difcuflion, I employ a
figure
Dec. l/^l'] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
47^
figure which will be found on my ehart Plate
-VIL
In the figure, let w be the Warren Has-
tings's Shoal, Tree Ifland, g, Gaspar Ifland.
The data are : i . The angles of bearing mea-
fured from the fhip when aground on the flioal,
by Lark INS, namely, the angle s w r, from the
Warren Hastings's Shoal to Tree Ifland, from
fouth to eaft 17°.
The angle s fv from the Shoal to the
Island, from fouth to eaft 7
2. The diftance of the objeéls, r, g, from cen-
tre to centre, 7.2 miles.
3. Laflly the angle ^ r g of bearing, from
Treê Ifland with refped to Gaspar îfland, from
caft to north 28° the complement of 62 degrees,
the angle of bearing from north to eaft.
We fliall then know the three angles in the tri-
angle R w G,
For, we have the angle r w (31=70°— i 7^=5 3^ :
the angle ?r g a (the complement o( zwg 70°) =
70 i the angle 2, g r (alternate of g r e, 28°)=:28^;
and confequently the whole angle r g ^^=48° :
And the third angle g r w (fupplement of the
fum of the two former) equal to 79"".
In calculating the triangle according to the
formulas of trigonometry, we fliall find :
IV G, diftance from the Shoal to the centre of
Gaspar Ifland::::8.B5 miles.
w R
480 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Ûec. 179 i.
«r R diftance from the Shoal to Tree Ifland=
6.7 miles.
The former of thefe diflances is, in Lar-
KiNs's Journal, 6 miles, and alfo 6 miles on his
chart : the latter is 9 miles in the journal, and
5§ on the chart.
As thefe diftances were eftimated by the eye, it
is not furprifing that there fhould be an error in
both 5 but we may be aftonifhed that the chart
does not agree with the journal, neither as to .the
diftances, nor as to the angles of bearing. I have,
as I have faid, thought it proper to pre fer ve
thefe angles fuch as they were inferred in the
Journals they were obferved, and thefe are the
only data of La r kin s on which it is pofTible to
rely : but why did he not make ufe of them in
conftruéling his chart ? He gives no reafon, and it
is not pofTible for me to atone for his filence : it
were to be wifhed that Mr. Dalrymple, who has
publiflied the Journal and the chart, had explained
himfelf refpeding this want of agreement which
certainly has not efcaped him ; and no one better
than he could aflign the caufe of it, and redify
the chart and the journal. It is eafy to conceive
how greatly fuch contradictions muft embarrafs a
navigator who has before him both the Plan, and
the written data, according to which the Plan
ought to have been conftruded ; they leave him
in doubt to determine on which fide the truth lies j
he
Dec. 1791 •] MAKCHAND's VOYAGE.
4§i
he may even (ufpcB: whether it be on either :
and his embarrafsmenc here muft be the greater,
as, till now, the Warren Hastings's Shoal is
laid down only on Larkins's charts unlefs it be
on fome chart with which I am not acquainted,
more recent than thofe publifhed by G. Robert-
son in 1788 and 1790.
IV. On the chart No. 49, 2nd, making part of
the Supplement of the fécond edition of D'Après'
Neptune Oriental, and of an earlier date than all
the charts which I have quoted, is feen another
fhoal fituated to the northward of the north point
of Caspar Ifland, at ten miles diflance, mea-
fured between this point and the fouth part of the
flioal. Crozet's Track in the Mascarin, in
1773, which is marked on this chart, paflfes only
at the diftance of 4 miles from the north part of
the fiioal which occupies i mile -, and it may be
prefumed that it is from the account of this
navigator, that D'Après has placed it: Crozet
having paffed only at the diftance of 16 or 17 miles
from the north point of Caspar ought to have
feen at the fame time that ifland and the breakers
of the fhoal.
I find on Dordelin's chart, (track going to
China) a fhoal nearly in the fame polition : he
places it to the north by weft of the moft north-
ern part of Caspar Ifland, and at the diftance of
about 10 miles, meafured from the fouth extremity
VOL^ II. II of
482 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE, [Dec. 1791»
of the fhoal ; he gives it 4 miles in extent from
north by well to fouth by eail. At its north
extremity is delineated an iflot; and Dordelin
fays, in a note written on the chart, that theje are
Rocks and Breakers even with the water's edge^ and
that the Rock is always above water. Dor delinks
track, marked in the chart, extends along the fhoal
at the diftance of about a mile from the breakers :
and as he faw at the fame time Caspar Ifland, we
may admit the pofition which he affigns to the fhoal
on his chart, relatively to the ifland, as well as tKe
extent which he has given to it.
RoBERTsoN*s large Plan prefents to us two
fhoals in the fame quarter, under the name of
Breakers : the firft to the north by weft i or 2^
weft of the Peak of Caspar Ifland, 7 miles from
its north point : the fécond to the north by weft
4° weft of the fame Peak, and at lof miles from
the fam.e point. The extent of thefe ftioals is left
undetermined on the Plan ; they are merely indi-
cated by a J furrounded by a dotted circle.
It is very probable that the moft difliant fhoal
is the fame as that which Dordelin exam.ined and
ranged along throughout its whole length : as for
the fécond, its exiftence might appear doubtful.
The French navigator had pafted through the
channel which fcparates Caspar IQand from Ro-
cher Navire or Tree Ifland; it vvMs in ftanding
to the north 5" weft, that he perceived the breakers
and
Dec. 1791.] marchand's voyage.
483
and the rock above water which he has iaid down
on his chart ; and it would be aftoniihlng if he
had not alfo perceived the breakers nearefl: to
the ifland, which are laid down in Robertson's
Plan, in the fame diredion as the mod diflant
ones, relatively to the ifland. I pre fume that
Robertson has placed this fhoal according to the
Journal of the Sulivan, Captain Stephen Wil-
liams, who, in 1784, on his return from China,
pafîed through Caspar's Strait *. It is there men-
tioned that the following bearings v^ere taken.
" At "I pad 9, A, M. faw Breakers, bearing
" N. ^E. diftant aboiitj miles, and appearing to
be about 3 miles north from Caspar Ifland,
" and fome others bearing W. S. W. about 6
miles. Like wife faw an Ifland making like a
" fail (this is Rocher Navire or Tree Ifland,)
" S. ~E. dillant about 2 leagues, Caspar Ifland
" then bearing S. E. diftant 3 leagues. A rock,
off it, with Breakers all round it, bearing from
" the fliipS.E. by S."
Thefe bearings, taken at the fame moment^
give room to make a few obfervations.
I. From the point whence Caspar Ifland
bore fouth-eaft difl:ant 3 leagues^ the Sulivan
ought to have feen Tree Ifland to the fouth half
* Mr. Dalrymple has given an extrad from this Journal in
one of the Memoirs of liis Colleclion, the title of which is, Jp^
fend'ix to Memoir of Chart of Sunda and Banca^ page i6,
112 eafl:|
4^4
MARCHANd's voyage. [Dec. 1791.
eaft ; but the diftancc of this rock, which carries
it only to 2 leagues, has been badly cftimated ;
it was at 3, as well as the diftance from Gaspar
Ifland : in order to 'be convinced of this, it is fuHi-
cient to prick off the bearings of Gaspar Ifland
on our chart where the relative pofition of this
ifland and "'of Tree Ifland is fixed according to the
Bearings of Wilson, Chanal, &c. It will be
feen that the point of bearing of the Sulivan is
at /^rd'^ leagues' difl:ance from Tree Ifland.
2. The point of this bearing may be equally
well determined by the two bearings and the dif-
tance alone from Gaspar Ifland, although there
is an error refpedling the efl:imated diflance from
'Tree Ifland j for it is well known that it is very
ufual to efl:imate the difl:ance too fmall, when bear-
ings are taken from a little ifland which is lofty ;
and the bearing with refped to Tree Ifland is
exaét, as well as the bearing with refped to Cas-
par Ifland. In therefore admitting this bearing, let
us look for the pofition of the Jirji Breakers. It
is faid that ^h^y [were about 3 miles to the north
half eaft of the fliip -, and that Gaspar Ifland bore
fouth-eafl:, diftant 3 leagues or 9 miles, the fliip
was therefore about 6^ miles more to the north-
ward than Gaspar Ifland: and as the breakers
were ftill about 3 miles more to the northward
than the fliip, they muft therefore ht 9^ miles
more to the northward than Gaspar Ifland. It
DeC^ 179*0 MARCHAND*S VOYAGE. 485
is therefore evident that there is an error in the
Journal, when it is faid there that the Breakers
are about 3 miles to the northward of Caspar
Ifland ; it was, no doubt, naeant to fay 3 leagues or
5 miles.
3. At prefent, I remark that the fouth part of the
breakers feen by Dordelin, the fame, according
to every appearance, as thofe feen before by Cro-
ZET, is diftant about 10 miles from the north point
of Caspar ; and that the extent of fea which they
occupy in breadth, is fituated, with refped to
the ifland, between the north by weft and the
north: thus, from the pofition where the Suli-
van was in regard to Caspar Ifland, thefe
breakers, if they be at the point where they are
(■ laid down on Dor deli n's chart, muft have borne
from the Sulivan, from north-north-eaft to
i fiorth-eaft, their fouth part about 6 miles diftant :
1^ and yet thofe which he (aw bore, it is faid in his
; Journal, north half eaft diftant only 3 miles.
[ We cannot therefore affirm poiitlvely that thefe
'j breakers were the fame as thofe which Dordelin
I faw ; but ftill lefs can we fay that they are not
the fame ; the Su li van's bearings appear not
taken, or at leaft let off with exadneis, and can
I infpire no great confidence : her commander may
i have been miftaken here as elfe\<^here. It has
. been feen that her journal places thefe breakers 3
piiles to the northward of ^Caspar Ifland ; and
Ï I 3 from
4^6 marchand's VOYAGE. [Dec. ,1791,
from thofe very bearings is taken the proof that
they muft be diftant from it 3 leagues or 9 miles-,
we cannot therefore place the Sulivan breakers
3 rniics to the northward of Gaspar IQand ; and
if, as v/e muft conclude from her bearings, we
carry them 9 or 10 miles, we fall on Dordelin's
Breakers, at leaft as to the diftance from Caspar
Ifland. I obferve that if, independently of the
latter, there exift others to the north half eaft of
the point from which the Su li van's bearings
were taken of Caspar Ifland and Tree Ifland,
DoRDELiN who, on failing from the middle of the
channel which feparates them, conftantly held a
northerly courfe, muft have pafted very clofe to
the caftward of the Sulivan's Breakers : and as
he has laid down none on the chart, we are affured
that he faw none.
Hov/ever, as it is always a matter of confidera-
tion to fupprefs a Ihoal, even when there are the
moft juftifiable doubts refpe6ling its exiftence, I
have thought it proper to preferve, on my charts
that of the Sulivan, becaufe I cannot fuppofe
that Captain Williams has committed errors
refpe6ling all his bearings and all the diftances
which he has eftimared : but, in order to place
this Shoal, I have paid no regard to the diftance of
3 miles, evidently erroneous, at which he fuppofes
Caspar Ifland; but only to the pofition of the
fliip deduced from the angles of bearings taken, at
the
Dec. 1791.]
marchand's voyage.
487
the fame time, from Caspar liîand. Tree Ifland,
and the Shoal. What determines me to preferve
it, is, on the one hand, the bearing of the Shoal
with refpe6l to the fhip, a bearing which does
not agree with Dordelin's Breakers : it is, on the
other, becaufe Dordelin tells us that the rock to
the northward is always above water ^ and that,
doubtlefs, Captain Williams of the Sulivan
would not have failed to make the remark ; yet I
admit that this laft motive is weakened, if we no-
tice that Dordelin fpeaks but of one fingle rock
above water 3 that he does not fay that it is lofty ;
that he might probably have perceived it, becaufe
he ranged along the Breakers from fouth to north
throughout their whole length j but that this rock
may probably too not have been perceived by a
fhip that was at a fomewhat great diftance to
the fouthward of the Breakers, Be this as it mày,
I have laid down on my chart thefe Breakers of the
Sulivan, under her name ; I am, however, far
from believing their exiftence, and much further
ftill, from vouching that I have not laid them down
twice.
Let us now endeavour to fix our opinion re-
fpedting fome other Breakers which bore from the
Sulivan weft-Jouth-wefi^ at about 6 miles' dijiance^
at the fame time that the former bore from her
north half eaft, diftant 3 miles.
Admitting the pofition of the fhip to be 3
114 leagues
marchand's voyage, [Dec. lygt*
leagues or 9 miles to the north-weft of Caspar
Ifland, fuch as it is given by the Suhvan's Jour-
jial, fhe ought to have been to the weft-fouth-weft
the northern part of the Warren Hastings-?
Shoal 5 but the diftance would be only 3 miles,
and not 6, as it was eftimated by the eye : for^ if
we chofe to admit this diftance of 6 miles, the
track of the fhip W arren Hastings which round-
ed the Shoal to the northward, after fhe had been
got off, would pafs over the fhoal feen by the
Sulivan, if placed according to that ihip'5
Journal
It appears to me nearly proved that thefe fé-
cond Breakers, feen from the Sulivan to the
weft-fouth-weft of her pqfition^ are no other than
a portion of the Warren Hastings's Shoal^
which may either be conneded with the Shoal^
or be feparated from it only by a channel. This
opinion is alfo that of Mr. Dalrymple, who
fays, in a note, that he has added to the Journal
of the Carnatic, Captain Wilson, of which he is
the Editor that "Captain Larkins gives the
Beariiigs of Caspar fouth 70° eaft and Tree
* In fpeaking of the track of the Warren Hafllngs, I do not
mean that which is marked on Captain Larkms's Chart, but
that which he ought to have followed, in faft, according to
the data configned in his journal ; thefe tracks diifer rather con«
fiderably from each other.
t See page 35 of Captain Wilson's Journal.
Ifland
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. 489
Ifland fouth 70° eafl: when aground (in the War^
REN Hastings in 1788) on an extenfive Reefy
" probably the Breakers feen by the Sulivan-,
" bearing weft-fouth-weft 6 miles diftant, when
Caspar bore fouth-eaft and Tree Ifland fouth
half eaft.*' Captain Wilson, who paiTed
through Caspar's Strait in 1787, and was not
acquainted with the fhoal on which the Warren
Hastings ftruek in 1788, was not willing to
^dmit the exiftence of the Breakers which had
been feen from on board the Sulivan in 1784,
In page 37 of his Journal he tells us, " In re-
fpecl to the Breakers which they fet weft-fouth-
weft 6 miles from them, when Tree Ifland bore
fouth half eaft and Caspar Ifland fouth-eaft, I
cannot but think they were miftaken, as, where
there any exifting, I muft have pafled very near
them and have feen them/' I obferve that,
in fad, on examining Captain Wilson. s Track in
the Carnatic, it appears that he pafled very cloje
to the weftward of the Warren Hastings's
Shoal : but though he had pafled clofer to it ftill,
provided he did fo without ftriking, it would have
been very poflible that he might not perceive
it, flnce Larkins had no knowledge of it till he
ftruek on it.
We may conclude, however, that, if the Break-
ers feen by the Sulivan to the weft-fouth-weft:
pf her pofidon, 3 leagues to the north-weft of
Caspar,
490
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE, [Dec. I79I.
Gaspar, are, indeed, the fame as the Warren
Hastings's Shoal, thefe Breaker Sy as the Capatin
of the Sulivan terms them, muft needs not break
at all times J fince Captain Larkins> who got-
aground on tliem in the open day and at low water,
had 'not been apprized of their prefence by any
ripiing, nor even any change in the colour of the
water : and his journal does not mention that,
during the three days which he remained aground,
he ever faw the fea break on it. Neither does
it appear that Wilson, who pafled through
Caspar's Strait with the intention and the
charge of examining every thing, and who muft
have pafTed very near the Ihoal, perceived, in this
quarter any appearance, any indication of danger.
If thefe fhoals or thefe breakers met with by the
Warren Hastings^ and feen by the Sulivan,
never break, or do not always break, they are the
more dangerous on that account : and, no doubt,
it will not be matter of furprife that I have taken
fo much pains in endeavouring to afcertain their
cxiftence and fix their pofition. From every pre-
fumption, which appears to unite in order to in-
dicate the identity of the Sulivan 's Breakers and
the Warren Hastings's Shoaly I have thought
it proper to confine myfelf to laying down the
latter on my Chart 5 but as nothing proves that
the extent which Larkins has given it on his, is
'cxaflly that which the Shoal has received from
Nature^
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
Nature, I have likewife thought that I might take
the liberty of altering it a little, in order that
V/ilson's Track, drawn according to his Journal,
might not pafs over the weft part of this Ihoal.
A note of Mr. Dalrymple, inferted in Cap-
tain Wilson's Journal, page 35, would feem to
indicate other dangers to the weft-north- weft of
Caspar Ifland.
The BELviDERE,'Tays he, being at anchor
" in 10 fathoms in latitude 2° 24' fouth by ob-
fervation, Gaspar eaft-fouth-eaft 3I; leagues.
Tree Ifland fouth by eaft, had the Sboal about
a cable's length diftant 5 north-north-eaft and
" fouth-fouth-weft from the fhip." They found
the " Jboal about 2 miles in length, in fome
places from 6 to 10 feet water, and within
jV^rij' diftance 15 fathom hard coral."
If we wi£h to look in the chart for the pofition
of the Belvidere, fuch as it is given in this note»
with refped to Caspar and Tree Ifland (without
concerning ourfelves about her latitude *), we fliall
find
* I obferve that, if the latitude of Gajpar Illand, as I
think I have proved (farther back, page 466 to 472) muft be
very near 2° 21' fouth; that of the Behldere, of 2° 24', al-
though being announced as deduced from an obfervation, was not
correft : for lince Gafpar bore from her eaftfouth--eaft, diftant
31 leagues, (he was lefs to the fouthward than the illand by 4
n?inutes, and her latitude mail be only 2° 17',
h might be objeded that herobfetved latitude does not devi-
ate
492 _ marchand's voyage. [Dec. 1791.
find that the fhip was at anchor to the north-eaft
of the point where the Warren Hastings got
aground, and at the diftance of half a miie from
that pofition : and it does not appear to me doubt-
ful that the fhoal feen and founded by the Belvi-
DERE, was the fame as that on which Captain Lar-
KINS got aground.
Mr. Dalrymple continues : " Being at an-
chor in 16 fathoms. Gasp ar eaft-fouth-eaft, 12
" miles diflant; Tree Ifland fouth 20'cafl:, about
10 miles diftant, a Shoal of Rocks weft-north*
weft, with not more than 3 fathoms in fome
places : it appears to be the length of half a
mile.'*
If we fet off thefe bearings and thefe diftances
on the chart, we find that this ftioal is fituated
to the north-weft of the place where the War-
ate much from that of Larl'ms, who, by a mean between 3 ob-
fervations taken on three fucceffivCj^days, found 2° 22^ 'for the
point of the fhoal on which he was aground, nearly about the
middle of its length ; which would give the fame latitude for
the place of the Behidere : but as it has been proved by the
" comparifon of other obfervations, made in more favourable cir-
cumftances, the latitude of the place where the fhip got aground,
compared to that of Gafpar^ by Captain X«ri//?i*s bearings,
muft be about 2° iS'^ and if there be any doubt refpefting this
pofition, it would be better for the fafety of fhips coming from
the northward, that the Ihoal (hould be laid down too far to the
northward, than that it (hould be placed too far to the fouth*
\vard,
5
Dec. 1791.] marchand's voyage.
493
REN Hastings grounded, and at the diftance of
about a mile.
This flioal appears to be alfo the north part of
the Warren Hastings's Shoal^ the fame point
that had been fet by the Sulivan to the weft-
fouth-weft of her pofition, when Caspar bore
fouth-eaft 3 leagues, and Tree Island fouth
half eaft. I would not, however, vouch for the
identity ; and I am entirely of the opinion of Mr.
Dalrymple, who concludes his Note by faying
that " Thefe feem to be ftraggling S boals with
channels betv^een, and therefore, in the day-
" time, dangerous only by negleding to keep a
good look-out from the maft-head.''
The inftance of the Warren Hastings might,
however, prove that this precaution is not fufE-
cient, for fiie got aground in tbe day-time. I think,
with Mr. Dalrymple, that the great fhoal li tu -
ated about 3 leagues to the weft-north-weft of
Caspar Ifland, is not a continued flioal, but, if I
may ufe the expreffion, an archipelago of fhoals
the extent of which is not perhaps yet well known,
and w^hich leave, by intervals, deep channels
through which ftiips might pafs, if fome rocks
above water ferved as Beacons and pointed out to
them the paffages : but as the grounding of the
Warren Hastings proves that, at leaft in fome
circumftances, no rock breaks, we cannot but
recommend to lliips which ihall have got fight of
Caspar
494
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. lygt*
Gaspar Ifland,' and been able to fix their pofi-"
tion in the chart, to pafs at fuch a dillance from
the place that the fhoal there occupies, as not to
have to dread it. The marked tracks of the na-
vigators who have not met with ihoals, and have'
not had fight of them, may determine on that
which a fliip will have to keep in order Xq be
certain of avoiding them. i
I have thought it proper to lay a fi:reft on the :
pofition of the fiioals that may be fituated from
the north to the wefl-north-wefl:, relatively to
Caspar Ifland, becaufe the uncertainty of their
pofition and the fear of falling in with them
during the night, in looking for the Strait Be-
tween Banca and Billiton, muft have hin-
dered feveral navigators from preferring it,^not-
withftanding its advantages to that of Banca,
which, befides its inconveniences, has its dangers
too : but as thefe dangers are better known, they
were lefs feared.
I proceed to the difcuffion of the other points
of the Wefl: Paflfage or Caspar's Strait, of
which it is necefi^ary to fix the bearings and dif-
tances, in regard to each other.
V. The East Point of the Ifland of Banca,
which fome navigators call its north-east Point,,
forms with Caspar Ifland the entrance of the
WEST Paflfage; and, in the interval, lies Tree
Ifland, nearer to Caspar than to Banca. The
6 bearing
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
'i9S
bearing of the east Point of the latter^ with re-
fped to the Peak of Caspar, has been exa6lly
determined by bearings taken when the two points
were in one,
Wilson (page 2 of his Journal) fays that
in pafling betwixt the Eaft point of Banc a
and Caspar Ifland, he fet at the fame moment,
the Peak of the latter north 50° 30' eaft, and
" the point of the former fouth 50° 30' weft."
Larkins, in the fame pofition, page 20 of his
Journal^ fet the Point of Banc a fouth-weft half
weft, and Caspar north-eaft half eaft, or, in
other words, fouth 50° 45' weft and north 50* 45"
eaft : and the bearing is the fame on his chart.
Captain Chanal, in a fimilar pofition with
refpe6b to the two points, found that their bear-
ing was north 53° eaft and fouth 53"^ weft : this
bearing was taken from the Peak of Caspar, on
the one hand, and on the other, from the hum-
mock that rifes on the middle of the point of
Banc A, which comes to nearly 57°, if we reduce
this bearing to the eaftern extremity of the coaft.
We ftiall place the hummock of the East
Point of Banca with refpeâ: to the Peak of Cas-
par, fouth 53° weft and north 53^ eaft.
This bearing is the fame on Robertson's Chart
and great Plan, and on Larkins's Chart i but on
that of Dordelin, it is fouth 59® weft.
VI. Captain Wilson, in employing various
bearings
49^ MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [DeC. 1791^
bearings taken from his Station h *, where he had
obferved the latitude 2° 4 9^ and in taking for a
bafe a portion of the diftance run by the fhip in a
determined diredion, has made the latitude of the
East Point of Banca, 2^33'; and it has been
feen that he places Caspar Ifland in his journal
in 2° 22', and on his chart in 2^ 20'. The ope-
rations of Captain Chanal gave him the fame
latitude of 2° 33' for the East Point of Banc a ;
and this is that which he has employed on his
chart where Caspar is in 2° 21', as he deduced it
from his obfervations. The latitude of the fame
point is 2° 3 '30^^ on the chart of Dordelin^, who
places the middle of Caspar in 2* 25' 15''
(2^21' \Ç according to his obfervations of 1784) :
2° 38' 30" on that of Larkins who places Cas-
par in 0? 25' é^^" : and in 2° 42' on that of Ro-
bertson, who has given 2° 30' for the latitude of
Caspar f . The refults of thefe feven determina-
tions give for the difference of latitude between
the middle of Caspar Ifland and the east
Point of Banca : 11' — 13' — 12' — 9^^ — 12' — 11%'
the mean is 11' c^^" or 12 minutes in round num-
bers i this is the difference of latitude that refults
from Chanal's operations : this is that which
Robertson's Chart gives ; and it is a mean be-
tween the two differences of Wilson, We may
* •S'f^ farther on thefe Bearings.
+ Sec farther back, page 469 «
therefore
Dec. 1791.]
MARCHAND*S VOYAGE.
497
therefore confider this difference of latitude as ex-
aélly determined.
If, with this difference of latitude of 12 mi-
nutes, or 12 miles, and the angle of bearing of
53° from north to eafl: ^ equally well determined
(page 495) we wifh to find by the calculation of
the oblique triangles, the length of the hypothe-
nufe, we fhall find 19.8 miles for the diftance
from the Peak of Caspar to the hummock
which rifes on the East Point of Banca.
The diftance is the fame on Wilson's Chart,
on that of Chanal, on Robertson's Chart and
Plan ; but it is from 21 to 22 miles on Larkins's
Chart and on that of Dordelin.
This bafe whofe length and diredion are
equally well determined, is that to which we fhali
reduce, by trigonometrical operations, all the
Points of the West Passage whofe pofition it
is of importance to fix.
VII. A mountain fituated inland on Banca,
ferving as a land-mark to fliips coming from the
northward.
The pofition of this mountain is not fufceptible
of great precifion. Wilson, being in a line with
the Eaft Poiilt of Banca and the mountain, fee
them, in one with each other, fouth 8 1° wefl :
Chanal, in a fimilar j)ofition, had fetthem fouth
78° 45' wefl. The difference of 2'' 15' in the
bearings of thcfe two obfervers makes us pre-
voL. II. K K fume
■ r
498 marchand's voyage. [Dec. 1791* j '
fume (and other bearings of the mountain, taken j
from other points of the Strait, alfo indicate it) |
that it prefents two fummits which lie nearly eaft
and weft in regard to each other *, and it is not •
proved that the two obfervers have pointed to the 'jj
fame : befides, they may not have fet the fame
point on the east Point of Banc a, which is a i
large round point, unequally elevated in its middle. |
Be this as it may, I have placed the hummock, |
or the Peak, the moft eaftern of the mountain,
with refped to the point of the ifland, weft 9® j
foJth, or fouth 8 weft. This bearing is con- |
firmed by another bearing of Wilson, who, from
a ftation G. which is feen marked on his chart (in
18 fathoms), having Caspar liland eaft-fouth-
eaft half eaft, diftant 9^ miles, and Tree Ifland
fouth-fouth-eaft 61 miles, fet, at the fame time,
the mountain of Banc a weft 33° fouth.
As to the diftance from the mountain to the i
EAST Point of Banca, Wilson, page 28 of his
Journal, has made it, from his trigonometrical
operations, 21.26 miles: this diftance, on his ,
chart, is that of the point of the ifland at the
fumrait of the mountain ; but that from the fam^ 1
point to the point of jundion of his lines of bear-
ing on the mountain, is 20,5 miles. I have placed '
* This remark is confirmed by a Vienv of this mountain, \
taken by Captain Chanal^ and which is to be found on my
Chart, PlateWl. \
the
Dec. 1791.]
marchand's VOYAGÎo
499
the fummit of the eaftern hummock at 1 9.5 miles,
becaufe that is the diftance given me by crofs
bearings, taken from different ftations in the
Strait.
This mountain is not comprehended in Robert-
son's Plan. It is placed on Dordelin's chart to
the fouth 55° weft, and at 33 miles* diftance,
from the east Point of Banca t this diftance and
this bearing differ too much from the refult of
the operations of Captains Wilson and Chan al^
for us to pay any regard to a pofition which, no
doubt, was determined from a mere view.
VIII. Middle Ifland, (and according to Wil-
son, Passage Ifland.)
This navigator from his ftation * at anchor (in
8 fathoms water, to which the Ihip had fhoaled,
* The bearings which Captain Wil/on took from his ftgtion ay
are too important for any of them to be omitted.
« Gafpar Ifland » « N. 37° 30'
The South-weft point of Pajage
IJlandy and the Eaft Point of Banca
in oppofite bearings, eftimated dif-
tance from the eaft point 5 miles . . N. 28° W. & S. 28° E,
" The northern extreme of PafTage
Ifland ... S. 50° 30' E.
" Mount Parma/an , . . N. 87° W.
" The fouth-eaft point of Banca S. 5° 15' E*
" One Ifland in the Bay S. 10'' W.
" The other S. 22° W.
Tree Ifland juftvifible from the poop N. 25° 3ofE.
{Wil/on'' s Journal, page i,)
K K a
m
Soo marchand's voyag£. [Dec. 1791.
in three cafts of the lead to 20 fathoms) fet the
South-west Point of Middle or Passage Ifland
fouth 28° eafl, at the fame time that he fet the
£ast Point of Banca north 28*^ weft, which
comes to 30° 30' reducing the bearing to the
hummock of the point ; and he has (page 28 of
his journal) made their diftance 21. 11 miles. The
SoLiDE*s journal gives us no bearing in the fame
pofition j but, on the chart that Captain Chanal
has conftru6ted from thofe which he took in other
points of the Strait, the fouth-weft point of Mid-
dle or Passage Ifland lies, with refped to the
hummock of the east Point of Banca, fouth 31
or 32° eaft, which gives 28 or 29°; reducing the
bearing to the eaftern extremity of the point;
and the diftance is 24 miles. The angle of bear-
ing is 28^ on Robertson's Plan, and the diftance
is 16^ miles only : on Dordelin's chart, the
angle is 34° 30',, and the diftance 22-§ miles: on
that of Larkins, the angle is 38^, and the dif-
tance about 18 miles ; but refpefling this laft,
the South-West point of Middle or Passage
Ifland is reprefented by a large mafs of fliapelefs
land which is loft in the frame of the charts,
I have preferved the angle of 28° of Wilson's
bearing, which was taken in a line with the two
points, and which is 30° 30', when reduced to the
hummock ; but having regard alfo to tl\e angle
from Caspar and to other angles taken, other
ftations.
>ec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. ^01
flations, in different points of the lirait, I have
thought it proper to diminilh to 20.2 miles the
vdiftance carried to the hummock, which in Wil-
son's Table of refults, is 21. 11 miles, reduced to
the eaftern extremity of the Point.
From the fame ftation, this navigator fet the
Northern extreme of Passage Ifland, fouth
50'' 30' eaft 3 which would place it fouth 44'' eaft
of the East Point of Banc a, and at the diftance
of 18. 1 miles.
But the fequel of Wilson's operations com»-
bined with thofe of Chanal, allows not this re-
fult to be adopted : it appears that, in reading the
card of the compafs, the obferver has taken the
complement of the angle for the angle itfelf,
which he meant to infert in his journal, and which
muft have been Eaft c^o° 2^* fouth, or foutb 39° 30'
eaft. What proves it, is that, in employing con-
jointly the bearings of Wilson from his ftation at
II o'clock*, thofe from his ftation ^ at noonf ;
a bearing
* WiI/on*s Journal, page 26. The bearings from this ftation
will be mentioned hereafrer.
+ Wil/ou's 2nd ftation marked h, is that of the 25th of Fe.
bruary at noon : the latitude obferved there was 2° 49' fouth.
" The bafe a h/' fays Wil/on, " is affumed upon a fouth 13°
eaft courfe, diftant 13 miles." We have before given the
A, bearings taken from the point a ; here are thofe which were had
from the point b.
" The iiuo IJlands in the IBay^ in one Weft
« The north.eaft end of Fajfage Iftand N, 64° 41' E.
K K 3 , " And
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [DéC. ijgs.
'z bearing which he took, fubfequently, from the
fouth-weft Point of Passage Ifland and the north-
call point of the fame, north 26° eaft*, and a
bearing taken by Chanal at 5 o'clock in the
evening f, I have deduced the pofition of the moft
northern point of Passage Ifland, as follows : with
refpeft to Caspar Ifland, fouth 8° 45' wefl:, in re-
sard to the hummock on the East Point of Banca,
fouth 40^30'eaft, at the diftance of 18.2 from this
laft point; and 17.2 miles from the eaftern extre-
Tnity of the Point.
On Robertson's Plan, the diftance to the
hummock on Banc a is 17.75 rTiil^s, and the angle
of the bearing fS""; and in meafuring from the ex-
tremity of the Point 13^ miles and 48'' 30': on
« And the fouth-weft end of // S. 66^ , E.
Gafpar Ifland /juft vifible from the balcony). . N. 17^^ E,
*^ And the fouth-eaft point of Banca in oppofite
bearings eftimatèd diftance 5 miles S, 17° E.
Mount Parma/an
The hummock over the eaft point of Banca. .
The extreme Point not vifible from the deck
The Eaft Point is laid down by its bearings from Gafpar
Ifland which I obferved in paffmg betwixt them, S. 50^ 30' W,
and N. 50° 30' E/'
{WU/ons Journal page 2.)
* Wllfon's Journal, page 28, left line of the Table.
+ At 5 o*clock in the evening of the 22nd December, the
Soîîdeh2iâi the Eaji Point of Banca bearing N. 35''' W. — Gafpar
Jfland N. 22°E. The north-eaft point of the peninfula 8.9° 30' W.
An ifland to the northwaj-d of rhis point from S. 40° to S, 48°
^Middle ox l^aja^e liland7rom S, 25° to S, 52° E.
Dec. 1791»] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
5^3
Dordelin's chart, the diftance to the extreme
Point, 18 miles J the angle 47®: on that of Lar-
KINS, diftance, 15 miles ; the angle 48° 30'.
IX. Islands in the Bay or Gulf, fituated to
the northward of the Peninfula of Sel.
Wilson, from his Station ^ (page 501, note f)
had the moft eallern of the two iflands which are
fituated to the northward of the peninfula bearing
direftly well j and, from this pofition, it concealed
from his view the weftern or fmall ifland. From
his Stations (fee farther on), the fouth-eait point
of Banca, in one with the north-east of the
peninfula, or, as Wilson exprefles himfelf, the
Outer. IJland in the Bay^ north 34^ weft. Other
bearings, taken previoufly from his ftation a (far-
ther back page 499, note *) of each of the two
iflands, of the fouth-eaft Point of Banca ornorth-
eaft Point of the peninfula, and at the fame time,
of the fouth-weft Point and northern Extreme of
Paflage Ifland, combined with the former and
with the bearings taken by Captain Chanal *,
* On the 2 2d, at 5 P.M. the Solide had the following
bearings : the 'Eajt Point of Banca N. 35° W. ; Gafpar Ifland
N. 22° E. ; the North-eajî Point of the Peninfula S. 9° 30' W. ;
an IJland to the Northnjoard of the Peninfula, from S. 40° to
S. 48^ W. ; Pajfage Ifland, from S. to S. 52° E. ' She
anchored at 40 min. pafl: 6 ; and from the anchoring place,
the hummock on the eaji Point of Banca, N. 21° W. Gafpar
Ifland N. 1 3° 30' E. ; the Great IJland in the Baj or Gulf^
from N. 68° W. to N. 77° W.
K K 4 have
^04 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. 1791-
have furnlfhed the data necelTary for placing ex-
actly the two I Hands in the Bay, as well with re-
fpe6l to the fouth-eaft point of Banc a, as with
refped to Passage Ifland, and the other Points
determined in the Strait, by bearings already men-
tioned, or by thofe which will be fo hereafter. It
refults from thefe operations, that the eaft coaft of
the large ifland is fituated fouth 15^ eaft of the
hummock of the east Point of Banca -, north 34°
weft of the north-eaft point of the peninfula;
fouth 26® 30' weft of the Peak of Gasp/^r^ weft
9° 30' north of the South-west Point of Passage
Ifland: that the centre of the Ifland is diftant 16
miles from the east Point of Banca ; 3 if from
Caspar ; and that it is, from coaft to coaft, dif-
tant 8|; miles from Passage Ifland.
The fmall or weftern ifland, has been laid down,
in regard to the large one, from a bearing taken
by Wilson from his Station and a fubfequent
bearing when the middle of the fmall ifland bore
weft of the northern part of the large one.
DoRDELiN has laid down three iflands, on an
eaft by north and weft by fouth line, in lieu of
the two which are feen on Wilson's Chart and on
that of Chanal : the bearing of the moft eaftern
of thefe iflands, in regard to the north-eaft point
of the peninfula, differs little on his Chart from
that given by the bearings of the two others;
but thofe of the ftation a of Wilson who fet, at
6 the
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. ^0^
the fame time, the moft eaftern of his two iflands,
fouth 10° weft, and the weftern, fouth 22° weft,
(farther back page 499 note *) do not allow me
to admit three iflands in the diredion which Dor-
DELiN has given to them, fince Wilson could
not but have feen the third, when, from the north-
ward whence he beheld them, he fet the two
iflands which he has laid down on his chart. How-
ever, it is poflible that there may be a third
ifland ; but, in this cafe, it muft be much nearer
the mairt land of the large ifland than the two
others, and at the fame time be fufficiently near,
for it to be confounded, to the eye, with the land,
when Wilson at the fame time fet the two
iflands.
I pay no attention to the chart of Larkinç^.
who has laid down at random three large iflands,
occupyi^ng a fpace of about 9 miles, between the
north by weft and norch-weft by weft from the
north-eaft point of the peninfula of Sel, from
which they are 8 miles diftant.
On Wjlson*s Chart and on Robertson's Plan,
between the north-north-weft and north-weft by
north of a point which might be taken for the
NORTH-EAST Point of the Peninfula, and at about
the diftance of 6 miles from this point, are feen
two iflands which aimoft touch each other; but
we are certain by the bearings taken by Wilson
' from his ftation tf, that thefe two iflands muft be
feparated
^o6 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dcc. I791.
feparated by a channel of if miles or 2 miles in
width.
X. North-east Point of the Peninfula of
Sel.
This Point forms with the South-west Point
of Passage Ifland, the narroweft part of the West
Passage or Caspar's Strait. Captain Wil-
son from his ftation h (fee page 501 note f ) fet
Caspar Ifland nordi 17° eaft; at the fame time
that he fet the fouth-eaft point of Banca, in op-
polite bearings, fouth 17° weft: and, from this
fame pofition, the fouth- weft end of Passage >
Ifland bore from him fouth 66° eaft.
There is here a fmall error in the bearing of
the north-eaft point of the peninfula : the fequel
of the operations of Wilson proves that the point
which he fet is the south-east, and not the
NORTH-EAST Point. In the pofition he was in,
they muft have borne from him almoft in one
with each other, fince the angles fcarcely differ a
degree j " and, no doubt, Wilson fet the latter
point.
It therefore is the South-east point of the
peninfula which I have placed fouth 17° eaft fiom
the Pe ale of Caspar, and the North-east point
is nearly 18°.
The north-east Point, on Chanal's Chart,
is ficuated in 18*^ 30 ^ it is 20 or 21° on that of
tXoRDHLiN^ and in 27*^ on that of Larkins. The
con- J
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
configuration of the lands^ iri this part, is fuch,
on Robertson's Chart and Plan, that it is not
poflible to diftinguifh a north-east pointy we
fee only that, in taking in a lump this projecting
part of Banc A, its bearing with refpefl to Caspar
Ifland agrees nearly with that which refults from
the Bearings of Wilson and Chanal.
According to the pofition before given to the
SOUTH-WEST Point of Middle or Passage Ifland,
this Point and the north-eafl point of the Penin-
fula of Sel, ought, according to Wilson, to bear,
with fefpe6i; to each other (page 28 of his Journal)
fouth 74^ weft and north 74° eaft 3 but, to adopt
this bearing of the one point in regard to the other,
we fliould neceflarily alter the pofitions already
fixed by other bearings, as well with refped to
Caspar liland, as with refped to the East Point
of Ba>;ca, and particularly that of the south-
west Point of Passage Ifland which is one of
the moft certain ; and we have no reafons that can
didlate, or even authorize thefe changes. In main-
taining the firft pofitions, I found that the tv70
points which we wifh to place, lie with refpe(5l to
each other fouth 56° 15' weft and north 56'' 15'
eaft: the difference, on a comparifon with the
bearing given by Wilson, is conftderable, it is
17° 45^3 but the width of the paiïage, from coaft
to coaft, which is the eflential point, differs on my
chart, from that given by Wilson *s refult, only
by
5o8 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. ijgu
by being 6 miles inftead of 6.2 miles, fo that they
may be faid to be the fame.
On examining whence this difference of 17^45'
may arife, between the bearing indicated by Wil-
son, in his 'Table of Bearifigs and Diflafices (page 28
of his Journal) and that which I have employed on
my chart, I have thought I difcovered that it pro-
ceeded from a bearing taken from his dation h {Jee
page 501 note f) from which he fet the south-
west Point of Paflage Ifland South 66® eaft. In
the pofition he was in with refpedl to this ifland,
the fouth'Weft point and Jouthernmojl point muft
have borne from him, nearly, in one with each
other j and furely he fet the laft: point that he had
in fight, fince he mentions but one : now the laft
point muft be the Jouthernmojl^ and not the south-
west point : and they are diftant from each other,
J miles, in the direftion of 66° fouth-eaft, and 66*^
north- weft. The fequcl of Wilson's operations,
combined with thofe of Chanal, will prove that
the prefumed error muft have taken place.
The width of the ftrait is greater on all the
other charts than on Wilson's and mine; on that
of Chanal who places the north-eaft point of the
peninfula v^/ith refped to r!ie fouth- weft Point of
Passage Ifland, nearly in the fame bearing as that
which I give to them, the diftance - is 9 miles ;
it is upwards of 10 miles on that of Dor del in ;
I z\ miles on that of Larkins's, and ^\ miles on
Robert-
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
Robertson's Chart and Plan. But we may be
cenain that all thefe diftances are too great ; for
the bearings of the two points which form the
narrowefl" part of the paflage, taken in oppofite
fituations, namely ; on the one part, the north-
eaft point of the Peninfula of Sel and the Peak of
Caspar fouth 1 8° eaft (farther back page 506)
and on the other the south-west Point of Pas-
sage Ifland and the eaft Point of Banca fouth 28"^
caft and north 28" weft (farther back page 500),
admit not of giving more than 6 miles opening to
the paflage between the North-east Point of the
Peninfula of Sel and the south-west Point of
Passage Ifland.
XI. East Coast of the Peninfula of Sel.
Bearings taken by Wilson from his ftation c *
give
* c Wilson's third Station of which is afllimed from the
. Bearings
" Of the South-eaft point of Bafica N. 56^ W.
And the Southernmoft Point of Fnjfage
Ifland ... : N. 5° \V«
** by which," fays he, " we muft have had a
ftrong current to the S. E. Hence
" The Eaftern Extreme of Pajage Ifland
bore : N. 33" Eo
« And the South Point of Banca bore. . Weft
which had before been obferved in one
with the South-eaft Point. 11° W„
« The South- weft Point of Banca S. 73° W.
which had been obferved in one with the
South Point S. 6f 20' W.
" A fmall
^tO MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. I79I.
give us for the extent of the eaft coaft of the
Peninfula 4I; miles ; and a preceding bearing of
its north-eaft and fouth-eaft points, in one, deterT
mine their relative pofition, fouth 1 1"" well, and
north 11° eaft.
This bearing is the fame, within one degree,
by the bearings and on the chart of Chanal -, but
the diftance of the two Points, or the length of the
coaft is there carried to 8è miles : on Dordelin's
chart, the bearing is that of Wilson, and the
diftance 7 miles: on Robertson's chart and
plan, the bearing, if the configuration of the
lands admitted of affigning one, would fee m to
be fouth 11° eaft and north 1 weft, rather than
fouth 11° weft and north 1 1^ eaft j but the diftance
cannot be meafured there, for we are at a lofs
where to find the north-eaft point. The bearing
is ftill more erroneous on Larkins's chart than
on the preceding ; the two points are placed, in
regard to each other, fouth 22'' eaft, and north 22°
weft : but it appears, in general, that this naviga-
tor had no other intention than to mark his track
A fmall Ifland. N.^l. by E.
« Another N.E. by E. | E.
« Another E.N.E.
« Another E. by N.
« And another from E. | N. to E. by S."
{ïVil/on's Journal, page 3.)
on
w
CDeC. 1791.] MARCH ANd's voyage. ^11
on his chart, and to lay down on it the foundings
which he took in the west Passage, widiout con-
cerning himfelf, in any way, with the relative
bearings of the points, and the configuradon of
t;he lands which feem to be traced nearly at
random*
, Captain Chanal obferves that, in the Chart of
Gafpar's Strait inferted in D^Après' Neptune Ori^
ental 48 of the 2d Edition) by which the
Solide reo;ulated her courfe, and of which all the
French navigators make ufe, is laid down a great
number of iflands on the eaft coaft of the penin-
fula i but that he perceived none, although the
Ihip had failed at no great diftance from the coaft:
he only faw a few breakers or rocks quite clcje in
jhore: Dordelin's chart, Wilson's, Larkins's,
and thofe of Robertson indicate no ifland on the
eaftern coaft of the Peninfula ; and we are at a loft
to conceive how Captain Caspar could have feen
any : the different time of tide may occafion a na-
vigator, in pafliiig, to fee or not to fee Breakers
very near the Ihore, which are either under or
above the furface of the fea, according as it is
high or low water j but an archipelago, fuch as
that which Caspar has reprefented. on his chart, is
vifible at all times, if, in fad, it exift.
We fhall confider the diftance of 6 miles, from
the north-eaft Point of the Peninfula of Sel to the
. fouth^wcft point of Middle or Passage Ifland as
4 a new
MARCHAND'S VOYAGE. [Dcc. I791,
a new Baje the diredion of which is north 56*^ 15''
caft and fouth 56^ 15' weft.
Wilson's Itation c has been fubjefted on my
chart to the pofition which his bearings give rela-
tively to thefe two points: to fouth 56° eaft from
the north-eaft point of the peninfula 5 to fouth 5®
eaft from the moft fouthern point of Passage
Ifland. I ftiall reduce to thefe fame points the dif-
ferent points whofe pofitions we fhall now endea-
vour to fix.
XIL Shoal and Breakers to the north-eaft of
the north-eaft point of the Peninfula of Sel.
We are indebted to Captain Larkins for a cer-
tain knowledge of thefe fhoals on which his fhip
touched, but without fticking faft. Having im-
mediately come to the wind, and dropped an an-
chor, he took from the anchoring-place the fol-
lowing Bearings (page 21 of his Journal.)
The South-east of the
Peninfula S.S.W.
Its North-east Point. . . . S.W. by S.
A clufter of Rocks S. by W. § W.
A fmgle Rock S. by E.
Northermoft extremes of the
Ifland (the eaftern ifland
in the gulf) off the N.E.
end oiSel N.W.byW.fW.
Diftant from the Peninfula 4 miles (efti-
mated by the eye.)
He
Dec. 1791.] MARCH AN d's VOYAGE.
He got under way again, and, ftanding on, he
had the clufter of Rocks, in one with the North-
east Point of the Peninfula, bearing fouth-wefl:.
It is from thefe bearings that I have laid down
on my chart Captain Larkins's reef, or the
Warren Hastings's Shoal, by reducing it to
the points already determined of the Peninfula ;
and it refults from the pofition which this opera-
tion has given them, that the middle of the clufter
of rocks is fituated to the north-eafh of the
North-east Point at the diftance of 2^ miles.
As for the detached and folitary rock, its bearing
with rcfped to the North-east Point is not cer-
tain Î but its diftance from this Point ought not to
be lefs than 2^ miles.
Captain Larkins, from an ocular eftimation,
has placed on his chart the clufter of Rocks, taken
at its exterior north-eaft part, at the diftance of
miles from the North-east Point of the
Peninfula -, but his bearings, reduced as well to this
Point as to the South-east Point and the large
ifland in the gulf, admit not of carrying this dif-
tance to more than 2^ miles.
On Dordelin's chart is feen a fomewhat con(i«
derable extent of Breakers laid down at about the
diftance of miles to the north and north by caft:
of the North-east Point of the Peninfula : there
can be no doubt of thefe being the fame as thofe
on which the Warren Hastings rubbed her
VOL. II. h L keel.
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. I79I.
keel, which, fortunately for her, touched only on
the edge of the Shoal.
It appears that the fea does not always break
on the north-eafl: extremity of the fhoal, fince
Larkins touched on it, without any thing having
announced to him the vicinity of danger.
XIIl. We are come to the group of fmall
iflands, fituated to the fouth-eaft of Middle or
Passage Ifland, w hich, with the fmall iQand, forms
the EAST Passage j or Clements' Strait. This
group is compofed of feven iflands which may be
feparated into two groups : the firft ox Weft group,
comprifes four iflands ; the fliip Atlas, Captain
Cooper, and the Royal Admiral, pafled between
this group and Middle Ifland: the fécond, or
EAST group, is compofed only of three iflands ;
the fliip Vansittart, Captain Clements, and
the fleet under his command, paflTed between this
fécond group and the weft group.
But, before we endeavour to fix the pofltion of
both groups with refpedt to Middle or Passage
Ifland, and their pofltion relatively to each other,
it is proper to fettle the name that is to be applied
to each of the iflands j for the want of agreement
between the Englifli navigators, who have im-
pofed names on them, might lead to an error.
In the wefl: group, compofed of four iflands,
the mofl: weftern of the two northern iflands is
named by Robertson, Sandy Ifland, and by
Cooper,
Dec. I791O MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
Cooper, Sandy Beach Ifland: the mod eaftern
is called Button Ifland by Cooper and Barn
Ifland by Robertson. The difference between
the names given to thefe two northern iflands is of
no confequence , it may eaflly be remembered
that the ifland called by the one Button Ifland,
is called by the other Barn Ifland, &c. But this
is not the cafe with the two fouthern iflands of
this fame group, becaufe the two navigators have
impofed the fame names on the two iflands, but
not the fame name on the fame ifland j which
would lead into an error the geographer or the
feaman who, wifliing to reduce to thefe iflands,
on Robertson's Chart and Plan, the bearings
which are to be found in Cooper's printedjournal,
ihould apply them to the one ifland, while they
ought to be applied to the other. Cooper gives
to the mofl: fouthern ifland of the weft group,
which is alfo the mofl; fouthern of the feven iflands,
the name of Saddle Ifland, " fo called,'' fays he
(page 21 of his journal) from having that ap-
pearance:" and " to the north-eait of Saddle
" Ifland," adds he, there is a low ifland," which,
on his chart, he names Flat Ifland. Thefe two
names are interchangéd on Robertson's Chart and
Plan : he gives the name of Saddle Ifland to the
fmafl low ifland to the north-eafl: Cooper's Flat
Ifland, and that of Low Ifland to the fouth ifland,
the largefl: of the two fouthern iflands, which is
L L 2 remark"
marchand's voyage.
[Dec. 1791.
remarkable frorh a particular configuration, info-
much that it has induced Cooper to impofe on it
the fignificative name of Saddle Ifland. lam of
opinion that the denominations employed by
Cooper ought to be preferred to thofe of Robert-
son and I ground the preference on the follow-
ing circumftances. Firft, I fee that Cooper has
drawn on his chart, at the northern extremity of
his Saddle Ifland, tzvo hummocks , at no great dif-
tance from each other, which may, in fa6l, pre-
fent themfelves under the form of ^ faddle -, while
the ifland to v/hich Robertson has given on his
charts the name of Saddle Ifland, is there pre-
ceded, in its eaft part by a fand-bank adjoining to
the ifland, and fliewing fome rocks off which the
Vansittart anchored : does not this latter ifland
appear likely to be a low or flat ifland, rather than
that which is reinarkable from two hummocks ? In
the fécond place, I fee on the chart of Dordelin
who, like Cooper, had entered from the fouth-
ward, that on the mofl: fouthern ifland of the
weft group which the latter has named Sad-
dle Ifland, the French navigator alfo reprefents
two hummocksy and that he calls it l'Ile aux
Mammelles, and I obferve that this is the only
one of the fmall iflands fltuaced to the fouth-eaft of
Middle Ifland, on which Dordelin has im|)ofed
a name, becaufe, no doubt, it is the only one that
is remarkable : I obferve too that it is the moft
6 fouthern
Dec. 1791.] marchand's voyage.
5^7
fouthern ifland of the two groups taken together,
like Cooper's Saddle Ifland, like Robertson's
Low IQand, I am therefore of opinion that there
may have been a miftake in writing the names on
the charts of this latter navigator 3 and I fhall
name on my chart, and in the fequel of this ana-
lyfis. Saddle Ifland or Ile aux Mammelles, the
mod fouthern of the iflands of the wefl: group ;
and Flat Ifland, that which lies to the north -weft
of the former. Of the two northern Iflands of
the fame group, the weftern one will be named
Sandy Beach Ifland, and the eaftern Button
Ifland, a denomination which appears to me to be
more fuitable than that of Barn Ifland, becaufe
Cooper fays that this ifland has a round form. It
may be remarked that this navigator (page 21 of
his Journal) obferves that " Saddle Ifland lofes
" that form as it draws to the eaftward, and then
looks moderately high and well wooded." It
is probable that Robertson who may have feen it
when it bore weft of him, and who thence ftood to
the fouthward, may not have remarked the two
hummocks which prefented themfelves to Dor-
delin and Cooper, when, in coming from the
fouth-weft, both of them had the ifland bearing
north-eaft : we may, however, be furprifed at the
hummocks not having been perceived and no*
ticed by Robertson, who anchored at about the
diftance of 4 miles to the fouth-eaft by eaft of his
L L 3 Low
marchand's voyage. [Dec. 1791.
Low Ifland, Dordelin's Ile aux Mammelles,
Cooper's Saddle Ifland ^.
The denominations of the three iflands which
form the eaft group alfo give occafion for a few
remarks. They are difpofed in the form of a tri-
angle : of the two weftern iflands, the mod north-
ern is named on the charts North Ifland and
fometimes Thwart-the-way Ifland ; the fouth-
ern is called every where South Ifland ; the
third ifland, fituated to the eaftward of the middle
of the firft: two, bears on Robertson's charts, the
name of Table Ifland. This lafl:, which its name
indicates as likely to be a flat and level ifland, is
not laid down on Cooper's chart, nor is it men-
tioned in his journal : it was concealed from his
view by the firfl: two, and may not have been per-
ceived at the dlfl:ance at which, by his track, he
muft have pafled fiom it.
Cooper's Track pafl^^s, as I have faid, between
the weft group of the fmall iflands and Middle
Ifland : it leaves to the eaftward Sandy Beach,
and to the northward of this ifland, the breakers
which I have laid down on ray chart, and which
are not inserted in Cooper's. Thefe breakers are
* The difference of the names given by Rohertfotiy and of
thofe which are met with on the Chart and in the Journal of
CoopcTy is to be found the fame on the copy of Robert/on'^ Plan
which Mr. Dalrymple\i2A publifiied in 1786, in his Colle^iion of
Plain,
taken
Dec. 1791.]
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
taken from the chart and plan of Robertson, who
has there marked the track of the Atlas, Cap-
tain Cooper ; they are placed to the eaft-fouth-
eafl of the fouth-eaft point of Middle Ifland, and
to the north- north-weft of Button Ifland (Ro-
bertson's Barn Ifland.) There appears only, in
Cooper's chart, nearly in the fame pofition with
refpe6l to Middle Ifland, a place indicated by a
dotted circle ; and it is faid in the Notes which are
engraved on the chart, that in this place. Cooper
faw the water of a green colour : but St. Barbe,
commanding a Portuguefe fliip in company with
which he pafled through the ftrait, told him that
the fea was often feen to break there. Robert-
son lays down, two miles to the northward of
thefe breakers, on the very track of the Atlas,
an anchor which indicates that this fhip anchored
in the place which it occupies ; and there are
other breakers marked within lefs than thediftance
of a mile to the weftward of the pofition indicated
by the anchor. As Captain Cooper has neither
marked, on his chart, this anchoring-place, nor
the fécond breaker to the eaftward of it, I have
thought it proper not to lay it down on mine;
and I have preferved there only the firft breakers
of which the Portuguefe captain has furnifhed the
indication. I obferve that, between Sandy-Beach
Ifland and the fouth part of thefe Breakers, there
is drawn on Robertson's chart and plan the track
L L 4 of
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. 1792.
of the Royal Admiral, which pafTes between the
breakers and the ifland, crofTing from north-eaft to
fouth-weft*.
The relative pofition, with refpedt to each other,
of the two groups which I have juft defcribed, and
their refpedive pofition in regard to Middle Ifland,
is what it is of moft importance to fix, in order to
fucceed in drawing a Plan of the East Passage or
Clements' Strait.
Unfortunately the charts which have been given
us by Robertson, Wilson, and Cooper differ
confiderably from each other refpe6ling the rela-
tive pofition of the fmall groups and of Middle
îfland. The Journal of the fhip Vansittart,
Captain Clements, on board of which G. Robert-
son drew his plan of Clements' Strait, has not
been publiflied, at leaft this journal is not com-
prifed in the number of thofe for the publication
of which we are indebted to the zeal of Mr. Dal-
* Captain Cooper certainly mentions, in his log-book ( page 20
of his Journal J having come to an anchor in 22 fathoms, on the
-yth of Auguft, at 8 P.M. but, on calculating the courfes given
in this fame log, from his firft ftation, at noon of this day, in
3° 20' latitude obferved, till 8 P. M. and in fetting off the refult
on his chart, we find that he muft have anchored 1 oj- miles to
the north 8° eaft of the northern Point of his Sandy Beach
I Hand ; whereas, on Robert/ojz's chart and plan, the indication
of the anchorage is 61 miles diftant from this fame point, and
diredly north. Cooper does not fay that, from the place where
he brought up, there were breakers to the eaftward at lefs than
the diftance of a mile, as they are feen on Robert/on's chart.
RYMPLE 5
Dec. 1791«] MARCHANd'S VOYAGE. ^2t
RYMPLE; and we are reduced to take from the
very charts of Robertson, the bearings and dif-
tances ; but it cannot be doubted that this naviga-
tor fubjeéled them to the angles which he had'
meafured.
It has been feen (farther back, page 509, note *}
that Wilson, from his ftation r, whence he fet the
fouth-weft point of Middle Ifland north 5° weft,
and the fouth-eafl point of the peninfula of Sel
di redly weft, had at the fa,me time the eaftern ex-
treme of Middle Ifland bearing north 33^ eaft,
and an ifland, which is Sandy Beach Ifland,
north-eaft by eaft, or north 56° 15' eaft.
From his ftation whence he fet the South-
* From the ftation d, WUjon had the following bearings ( fagi
3 of hh "Journal )
The in one with the north«eaft end
of the Outer IJland in the Bay N. 34.°
The fouth-weft of Paffage IJland. North,
The fouth-weft point of S. 87^
A remarkable hummock upon Banca (which
had been obferved in one with the Outer
IJland in the bay S . 50° W.) N. 81°
A very fmall ifland N. E. by N.
Another larger N. E. f N,
■Another N. E. |
Another ftill larger, with one beyond it, in
one with it N. E. by E,
Another (from the maft head) about E. by S.
^A^nother (from the deck looking like a iailj
Tery diftant S. E. | E-
WEST
522
marchand's voyage. [Dec. 1791.
WEST point of Passage Ifland direflly north, and
the South-east point of the peninfula fin one
with the north-eaft end of the Outer Ifland in the
Bay) north 34° wcfl, he had, at the fame time, a
very fmall ifland (Sandy Beach) bearing norths
eaft by north, or north 33^ 45''eaft.
It is from thefe bearings that Captain Wilson
muft: have conftruded the part of his chart that
prefents the channel or open paiTage between
Middle or Passage Ifland and Sandy-Beach
Ifland, which is the nearefl:. The fouth part of '
Passage Ifland prefents on this chart a ftraight
coafl which extends about 5 miles on an eaft and
weft line, declining only 2 or 3 degrees from the
eaft towards the north : this configuration differs
from that which all the other charts have given of
this part of the ifland, and from that which it
muft have from good bearings that determine the
pofition of the fouthernmoft point of the ifland in
regard to its fouth-weft point. Be this as it may,
if we take, on Wilson's chart, the fliorteft dif-
tance from Passage Ifland to Sandy Beach
Ifland, and the relative bearing of the two points
of the fhorteft diftance, we find that the width of
the channel there is 31 miles, and that the bear-
ings, on this line, is fouth 5° 30' eaft, and north
5° 30' weft.
On Cooper's chart, which is exadly fubjeéled
to
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
to the bearings which he took*, the width of the
channel is 5 miles, and the bearing of the two
points at the fhorteft diftance, fouth-eaft and
north-. weft, or 45 degrees.
On Robertson's chart and plan, the fhorteft
diftance is, on the Plan, 6| miles, and 7 miles
on the chart -, and the bearing, fouth 28"^ 30' e aft,
and north 28° 30' weft on the flan ; and 37° 30'
on the chart.
But on Robertson's Plan, publiftied by Mr.
Dalrymple in 1786, the diftance is 5^ miles,
and the angle of bearing 19^
* Station II.
Saddle Ifland diftant 6 leagues N. 45° E.
Station III.
Saddle Ifland E. 26° N.
Sandy Beach Ifland N. 28° E,
Middle Ifland from N. 9° E. to N. 11° W.
Station IV.
Saddle Ifland from S. 75° E. to E. 5° N,
iJ"/^/ Ifland E. 10° N.
Middle Ifland from N. 5° E. to N. 2f W,
Station V.
Sandy Beach Ifland S. 32° E.
Saddle Ifland E. 39° S.
Button Ifland E. 25° S.
Middle Ifland from N. 2° W. to N. W.
Station VI.
Sandy Beach Ifland S. 8|° W.
Button Ifland S. 6° E.
Flat Ifland S. 32° E.
(Cooper's Journal page 20 to 23)
4
Thus
524 ~ marchand's voyage. [Dec. 1791. 1
Thus the four Plans or Charts which I have i
quoted give us the following refults : ;
Width of the Bearing of the Points at
Channel. the Ihorteft Diitance. j
Miles. Degrees.
lVilfon'% Chart 3.66 5^
G?c;^^r's Chart 5.00 45
Ç1786 .... 5.50 19
RohertJorC^ ' j^^<^(^^\2lXï 6.33
L i-Chart 7.00. . . * ^ . 37f
Thefe determinations difFer too much between
them for us to endeavour to reconcile them, or
for us to be able to content ourfelves with taking
a mean between the refults. It has therefore been
necelTary to recur to other means for fixing the
pofition of Sandy Beach and Saddle ] Hands
with refpe^l to Middle Ifland : thefe Iflands
which are the wefternmoft of the group of the
feven iflands which form the East Paffages, will
be found conneéled in a manner fufficiently exad^
as well to Middle Ifland as to the Peninfula of
Sel> which are themfelves conneéled by good ope-
rations to the East Point of Banca and Gaspt^r
liland ; and the Pofition of the group very well
determined will identify, if I may ufe the expref-
fion, the Plan of Clements* Strait with that of
Gaspar's Strait •
Let
Dec. 179 1-] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. 525
Let us begin by fixing the pofition, with re-
fped to the Peninfula of Sel, of the fouthernmoft
Point of Middle Ifland, which is not its fouth-
weft Point, and which may be faid to belong
equally to both Straits.
. On the 23rd of December 1791, at 22 minutes
paft 7 A. M, Captain' Chanal, from on board
the Solide, fet at the fame time the South-east
Point of the Peninfula of Sel fouth 54° weft, and
the fouthernmoft Point of Middle Idand i)orth
55^ eaft s and as, at that moment, the ftiip was at
nearly an equal diftance from the two points fet,
we may admit that thefe two points lie, with re-
gard to each other, north 54°3o'eaft, and fouth
54° 30' weft.
An hour after this firft bearing (at 20 minutes
paft 8) the fouth coaft of Middle Ifland, com-
prifed between its South-west Point and its moft
eaftern Point on the fouth fhore, bore from north
11° 30' eaft to north 32^ eaft.
The bearings taken at thefe tv/o periods being
combined, they fix both the extent of the fouth
coaft of Middle liland, which prefents itfelf to
-a fhip coming from the fouth ward, and the por-
tion of the Southernmost Point of that ifland
in regard to the Points of the Peninfula of Sel,
already determined, and more immediately, in re-
gard to its South-east Point : we find that the
latter
526 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. 1791^
latter point lies, with refpeâ; to the fouth point of
Middle Ifland, fouth 43° weft and north 43°
eaft; that their diftance is lof miles, and that
the extent of the fouth coaft of Middle Ifland is
3.6 miles.
On the other hand, Wilson, from his ftation h
(farther back, page 501 and 502, note ■]■, and 507)
fet the fouthernmoft end of Middle or Passage
Ifland in fight fouth 66° eaft ; and as this ftation is
fixed by good bearings, as well in regard to Mid-
dle Ifland and the Peninfula of Sel, as with re-
lpe6t to the hummock on the East Point of
Banc A, and with refpe6t to Caspar Ifland; it
follows tnat, if, from this ftation, we draw a line
whofe direflion is fouth 66° eaft, w^e cannot carry-
any portion of the fouth coaft of Middle Ifland
more to the fouth ward than this line of bearing,
which agrees perfedlly with the refult of Chanal's
bearings.
This argument confirms the neceffity of the
corredion which I have before made (page 507)
to one of Wilson *s Bearings, by fubftituting the
Jouthernmofi Point of Passage Ifland (that which
he muft have feen from his pofition) to the South-
west Point mentioned in his Journal; and, in
fadb, if the bearing of north 74° eaft, and fouth
74° weft, afligned by Wilson, between the north-
caft point of the Peninfula of Sel and the South-
west
Dec. 1791.]
marchand's voyage.
WEST Point of Passage Ifland, be applied on my
chart to the North-east Point of the peninfula
and the fouthernmoft Point of the ifland, it will be
found that this bearing agrees with all the refults
of my labour.
Wilson, from his ftation c (farther back, page
509, note *) fet the eailernmofl: entrance in fight
of the fouth coaft of Passage Ifland north 33°
eaft ; but the agreement of the bearings which I
have mentioned above, proves that there is an
error in the meafure of the angle, or rather a fault
in the copy, and that this angle fliould be 23 de-
grees in lieu of 33.
After having thus fixed the extent of the fouth
coaft of Passage or Middle Ifland, and the pofi-
tion of the fouthernmoft Point in regard to the
South-east Point of the Peninfula of Sel, it
remains for us to determine the bearings in regard
to Middle Ifland of the wefternmoft iflands of
the group which forms the East Paflages : in
order to accomplifh this, I Ihall make ufe of vari-
ous bearings taken from the Journals of Captains
Wilson, Cooper, and Chanal.
Wilson, from a Station of the 26th of Fe-
bruary, at II A. M. which is well fixed by bear-
ings taken at the fame time of four Points already
determined (the eaft Point of Banca, Gaspar
Ifland, the eaftern ifland in the gulf, and the
north-
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. ijgt^
north-eaft point of the Peninfula of Sel *) alfo
fet the weft coaft of Middle or Passage Ifland,
namely, the northern extreme in fight, fouth 79°
eaft, and in one with the fouthern extreme (which
from his pofition muft be the South-west Point
of the ifland) a fmall round ifland fouth 42"* eaft :
this was the only land that he then faw more to the
eaftward than Passage liland. This fmall ifland
which was feen in the diredion of fouth 42° eaft
with refpeél to the South-west Point of Middle
Ifland, could be no other than Sandy Beach, or
Saddle Ifland, or perhaps both in one ; for they
lie from each other on the fame point of the com-
pafs.
* a Gafpar Ifland feen from the
Stern Gallery N* 19^ E.
The Eaji Point of Banca
breaking away into trees N. 22|° W.
The north-eaft point of the
Peninfula of Sel S. 9° W.
The extremes of an Ifland in
the Bay (which extreme is
in one, with a remarkable
hummock upon Banca)
from S. 50° W. to S. 62^ W.
The extremes of Pajfage
Ifland fromW. 42^ E. to S. 79^ E.
*^ which laft extreme (that of the 8 W) is in one with a fmall
round ifland a long way off, and is the only land we fee to
*^ the eaftward of PaJJage Ifland.
At this time, viz. 1 1 o'clock, the fliip is nearly mid-chan-
nel betwixt the ifland in the Bay, and Pajfage Iffand, rather
" nearer to the former, in 15 fathoms water.** fSee W'dfon'^
Journal, page 26.)
The
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. S^B
The linear diredion which this laft of Wilson's
bearings gives us, fixes the limit of the fmall weft-
ernmofl iQands of the fouth-eaft group ; they can-
not be carried within the line of fouth 42° eaft,
down from the South-west Point of Middle
Ifland nearly through the middle of thefe two
iflands.
Captain Chanal, from the anchoring-place of
the 22nd of December in the evening, the point
of which is fixed by his bearings of Points al-
ready determined, had in fight four of the iflands
of the fouth-eaft group, and the fouthernmoft
bore from him fouth 56° eaft*. This linear di-
redion from the point where the Solide lay at'
anchoç, pafles through the middle of Saddle
Ifland, which is, in fad, the fouthernmoft of the
iflands.
It is from thefe linear direftions combined with
the bearings of Wilson's Stations c and d (farther
back, pages 509 and 521) and with thofe of
Cooper's Stations IV, V, and VI (page 523)
that I have placed on my chart the four weftern
iflands of the fouth-eaft group, Sandy-Beach,
Saddle Flat, and Button Iflands: and the
pofitions which I aflign to them are confirmed by
bearings taken from on board the Sulivan which,
being in a pofition whence the weft coaft of Mid-
dle Ifland bore from her from fouth 65^ eaft to
* See pages 141 and 142 of this volume.
VOL. II. M M north
^^O ^ MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. 1/9 1.
north 45^^ ea{l, had an ifland (this is Sandy-
Beach) bearing fouth 45° eaft ; another (this is
Saddle Island in its higheft part, as the hum-
mocks on the north fide) fouth 5 1° eaft ; and a
third (this is Button Ifland) fouth 55° eait * :
in her pofition Flat Ifland was concealed from
her by Button ; and, indeed, he makes mention
only of three iflands which he perceived and fet.
If the Sulivan's pofltion at the time of thefe
bearings be pricked off on my chart, it will be
* See the Sulinjan's Journal, in the Appendix to Memoir of
Chart of Sunda and Banca, publilhed by Mr. Dalrymple,
page 1 8,
According to the Journal, the diftance of the fhip from Mid-
dle Ifland was about four miles ; biit it is evident that this dif-
tance was eftimated too great, and cannot be, as it is feen on
my Chart, but about a mile and a half; and, if it had been 4
miles, the Sulivan which, from the point of her bearings, fleer-
ed, according to her logbook, (page 17 of her journal) S. f
E. — S by E. — S by W. and ran from \ pail 5 to 9 P. M. up»
v/ards of 6 miles on thefe courfes, would have palfed over the
breakers and the flioal of the north-eaft point of the Penin-
fula. It appears that G. Robert/on thought, like me, that there
was an error refpeélng the diftance eftimated by the Suli'van ;
for, on his Chart and on his large Plan, he makes his ftiip's
track pafs at about tauo milesy and not at four miles' diftance
from the fouth-tvejî Point of Middle Ifland which bore from
the SuU'van fouth 65° eaft, at the fame time that the north ex-
treme bore ^g!^l^M|j^° eaft. But the relative pofition of thefe two
Points, fuch as it has refulted from the fequel of my labour,
allows me not to give more than the diftance of a mile and
a half from the point where the Suli'va7i*s bearings were
taken to the fouth- weft Point of Middle Ifland.
found
Dec. 1791.]
MARCH AN d's VOYAGE,
53^
found that the three iOands which I have defig-
nated, the only iflands that could be perceived from
her, fall very cîcaftly in the linear diredions in
which fhe favv them.
In regulating on my chart the pofition of the
weft iflands of the fouth-eaft group according to
what has been eftabliflied above, the width of the
pafifage between thefe iflands and Middle Ifland,
meafured at the narroweft place is 4. i miles ; and
the bearing of the two Points at the fliorteft dif-
ftance from Middle Ifland on the one hand, and,
on the other,^ from Sandy-Beach is fouth 28°
eaft, and north 28° weft. If thefe refults be com-
pared with thofe of page 521, it will be feen that
the diftance comes near to that of Wilson, 3I
miles, and that the angle of bearing is nearly that
of Robertson's Plan, (1788) 28 degrees and a
half.
I have quoted my authorities, the journals
whence I have taken the data on which my chart
is grounded ; 1 have detailed the operations by
which I have fucceeded in fixing the width of the
paflage at 4^0 miles, and the bearings of the
neareft points, at an angle of 28"" from fouth to
caft and 28° from north to weft : I leave to the
intelligent reader to afcertain whether the ufe
which I have made of the data, has led me to an
cxad refult, and whether the new chart defervcs
in this refpeft a preference to the older charts. ^
M M 2 In
53^ marchand's voyage. [Dec. 1791.
In order to piacc North or Thwart the
Way, South, and Table Iflands, compofing the
little eaftern group which, with that of the four
weftern iflands, form the paffage through which
paffed the Vansittart and the fleet under, the
command of Captain Clements, I have made
ule of Cooper's bearings at his Stations IV and
VI (farther back, page 523). The relative pofi-
tion which the two groups take between them,
according to thefe bearings, is confirmed by that
which Captain Chanal took on the 23rd of De-
cember at feven minutes pad nine o'clock * ; from
the point.where the Solide was at this period, the
fmall iflands, feven in number, partly fliut in by
each other, formed â group, the general direc-
tion of which was^north 43° eaft.
If, on my chart a line be drawn from the fouth
point of Saddle Island, the fouthernmoft of the
feven iflands, to the middle of North Island,
the northernmofl:, this line will have the direction
of north 43° eafl:. Thus it may be concluded that
Saddle and Flat Iflands on the one hand, and on
the other. North and South Iflands, which form
the Vansittart's PaflTage, are well fituated on
my chart, with refped to their relative bearing.
As to their difl:ance, which is the width of the
paflage, it is there fuch as it is given by the
crofs bearings of Captain Cooper's Stations IV
* See page 145 of this volume.
and
Dec. 1791.]
MARCHANDAS VOYAGK.
^33
and VI, taken to the fouthward and to the north-
ward of thcfe iflands.
This diftance, at the narrowed part of the paf-
fage, between the north-eaft Point of Flat liland
and the fouth-weft Point of South Ifland, is, on
my Chart, 2^*^ miles ; and the bearing of the two
Points, in regard to each other, is eaft 15° north
and weft 15° fouch.
On Robertson's chart, the diftance is miles
and the angle 17° , and, on his great Plan, the dif-
tance is 4f miles and the angle 1 6^.
The comparifon with the other charts would
be ufelefs; the navigators who conftruéled them
took not their route through this PafTage.
After having placed the feven iflands of the
fouth-eaft Groups, as well in their pofitions re-
lative to each other, as in their fituation in regard
to Middle Ifland, it remains for me to fix the po-
fition of a Sboal which may be called the Van-
sittart's Shoal, and which merits all the atten-
tion of navigators who may be defirous of paf-
fmg through Clements' Strait between the
feven iflands, leaving, like him, three of them to
the eaft ward, and four to the weft ward. This
Shoal is fituated to the northward of our Flat
Ifland, Robertson's Saddle Ifland. Captain
Clements, who had anchored with his fleet at a
little diftance to the fouth by weft of the Shoal,
fent his boat to take the bearings of the iflands
M M 3 from,
^g4 marchand's voyage. [Dec. 1791.
from the Shoal itfelf, on which there was not
found more than a foot and a half of water.
Thefe bearings make part of the failing direc-
tions which Mr. Dalrymple has engraved on
the Plan iîfelfof Clements' Strait drawn by Ro-
bertson, which he inferted, in 1786, in his great
Colleclion of Plans of the Seas of Asia, before
Robertson had publifhed his general Chart and
his particular Plan of Caspar's and Clements'
Straits.
From the fhoal, the .Vansitt art's boat fet
North Ifland or Thwart the way, eaft by
north, al 2 2 4 diftance ellimated by the
eye — RoBERtsoN*s Saddle Ifland, which is
Cooper's Flat Ifland, and the fame on my Chart,
fouth by Vv^eft half weft 3I; or 4 miles diftant—
Barn Ifland, which is Cooper's Button Ifland,
and the fame on my Chart, weft by fouth — The
fouth Point of Middle Ifland wéft-north-weft.
Robertson has fubjeded with tolerable exa6t-
nefs the Vansittart's Shoal to the diftances efti-
mated by the eye 3 namely, to 3-J miles from
North Ifland, and to 3^ miles from Flat îfland :
he has alfo placed it in its bearing with refpeél
to the fouth Point of Middle Ifland, that is to
fay, to the eaft 22" 30' fouth from this Point;
but he has given up the bearings which were
taken of three of the fmall iflands ; he has placed
the fhoal weft of North Ifland, inftead of weft
; Dec. 1791'] MARCHANd's VOYAGE, ■ 535
11° 15' fouth — north 20"" eaft of Flat Ifland,.
inftcad of 14^ 15' eaft — eaft of Button Ifland,
inftead of eaft 11° 15' fouth. I am ignorant what
motive can have determined Robertson to give
to diftances of fmall iflands, eftimated by the eye ^
and confequently, fo erroneous, efpecialiy when
the obferver is placed in a boat near the level of
the fea, the preference to angles of bearing mea-
fured with care, which, always afford more cer-
tainty as to corredlnefs, efpecialiy when the mag-
netic needle has no variation. I could not adopt
his proceeding, and I have fubje6ted the Van-
sittart's Shoal to all the bearings taken, from
the fhoal itfelf, with refped to the fouth Point
of Middle îfland. North Ifland, Flat Ifland,
and Button Ifland: the point where thefe four
lines of bearing met, has fallen niiles. from
North Ifland, inftead of 3^ or 4 miles, men-
tioned in the note engraved on the Plan publifhed
by Mr. Dalrymple 3 and miles, inftead of
2\ or 4 miles, from Flat Ifland. My diftance to
the firft ifland differs from the diftance indicated
in the Note, only in the proportion of 1 1 to 14^
but the diftance to the fécond differs in the pro-
portion of 18 to 35. I obferve that, to reduce
thefe diftances to thofe which were efiimated from
the boat that took the bearings, it would be ne-
cefTary, either to alter conflderably the ohferved-
bearings which do not, like diftances eftimated
M M 4 by
53^ MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dcc. 1791,
by the eye, depend on a computation always ar-
bitrary and very uncertain, or give to the fmall
iflands pofitions relative to each other and with
refpedl to Middle Ifland, very different from
thofe which it is impoffible not co affign to them
according to ' the Bearings of Wilson, Cooper,
and Chanal, which, in general, reciprocally ferve
each other as a verification and a proof.
I know of no other than Robertson's Chart
and Plan thatprefent the eaft part of Clements'
Strait, , that is to fay, the wefl coaft oKBil-
LiTON, and the fmall neighbouring iflands, aM
which can be employed for delineating this part.
But, in making ufe of the work of that navigator,
I was obliged to fubje6l this portion of it as well
to the pofition which I have given to Middle
Ifland, as to that aflumed by the feven iflands
which compofe the fouth-eafl: Groups.
I obferve firft that Robertson anchored to the
fouth-wefl, at the diftance of about 8 miles from
the north-wefl: Point of Billiton Ifland j and
that, from this Point, to abreafi: of Middle
Ifland and within fight of North Ifland or Thwart
the Way, he made a dire6b courfe of about 8
leagues : and it is, no doubt, partly from the re-
fult of this courfe, and the bearings which mufl:
have been taken of its two extreme points, that
he has laid down North Ifland 26 j minutes more
to
j sDeC. 1791.] MARCH AN d's VOYAGE. 537
i
I to the fouthward than the north-weft Point of
i| BiLLITON.
I North Ifland, at its middle, ^according to the
I refult of the triangles of which I have made ufc
' for conftru6ling my Chart, is fituated in latitude
1 2*" 53^ 20'^ (the Peak of Gaspar being in 2° 21') :
and fmce the north-weft point of Billiton is le&
foutherly by 26 j minutes than North Ifland,
i and fmce its latitude is fouth, this point muft be in
2° 27' 10^^: and it is thus that I have laid it down
on my Chart. On that of P^obertson it is in
2° 37' s and its pofition in latitude differs on our
charts 9 minutes and 50 féconds.
This difference, which is the fame, within lefs
than I minute, as that which we have had in our
latitudes of Caspar Ifland (between 2° 21' and
2° 30' farther back, page 466), may make us pre-
fume that, from his anchoring-birth under- the
north-weft point of Billiton, Robertson had
fight of SPAR* 5 and that, not having obferved
the latitude of the anchorage, he fubjeâed it to
that which he applied to Gaspar. What con-
firms me in this opinion is, that having, by a
fcries of triangles, fubjeéled in my work the la-
* Rohertfon anchored to the fbuth-weft of the north-weft
Point of billiton, at the diftance of about 8 miles : from this
anchorage, \e could perceive Ga/par Ifland 8 or 9 leagues
diftant, as iPxlfon perceived it at this diftance, from his ftation
at 1 1 A. M. in Ga/par's> Strait (farther back, page 528 note *).
titude
• MARCHAM'd's VOYAGE, [Dec. 1791.
titude of North îûand to that of Gaspar^ I
found that their difference of latitude was 3 2' 30^'';
and^ on Robertson's Chart, this'difference is 33'
30^^, that is to fav, the fame within a minute.
In giving to North and South Iflands the
pofuion, with refpeft to Middle Ifland, which
refulted from the feries of our triangles, and
which differs from that given them by Robert-
son, I was forced to bring nearer to the fouth-
eall group the points of the anchorage where the
Vansittart's anchor is marked off Middle
ifland ; and this was the fcle method of preferv-
ing to thefe points their pofition in regard to this
ifland, the extremes of which muft have been fet
from each anchoring-place.
Long Island, that large ifland fituated to the
north-eail of the Groups, as well as the Points
of the coaff of Billiton w^hich correfpond there-
to, mufl:, for the fame reafon, have experienced
a general movement towards the fouth, in order
to preferve to them, with refped to Middle
lOand, the pofition which Robertson has given
them.
XIV. Ile de la Reconnoissance, Shoal-
water Island, and the llioals fituatçd to the
fouthward of the Straits.
Î have fixed with all the exad:nefs that the ma-
terials at my difpofal would admit of, the north-
ern part of the Straits, and principally -Caspar
6 Ifland
Dec. Î79I.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
539
Ifland and the East Point of Banca, which ferve
as a land-mark for (hips that are coming to the
Straits from the northward j it remains to fix the
land-marks for thofe coming to them from the
fo 11 th ward.
The Ifland or rather the Iflands of la Recon-
NOissANCE *, which Captain Clements calls
Shoal-water Ifland, is the firft point which it is
proper to determine, becaufe ic is that which
mufl: be made by fliips coming from the fouthward,
whether it be intended to enter by the east-
or the WEST Passage.
Dordelin, in going to China, in 1784, got
light of thefe iflands in the morning, and, in re-
ducing, by the computation of his run, their po-
fition to the latitude which he obferved at noon, he
made the latitude of the fouthern ifland 3^18^
fouth.
Wilson's chart places the fouth point of- this
ifland in 3^ 16' f, but he determined its pofltion
only by a bearing taken from his fliation dy as far
off as he could difcern it : and- we can only make
* All the Charts and Plans agree in making of them two
fmall iflands, on a N.E. and S. W. line, about i or 2 miles
diftant from each other, and conneded by a circular flioal.
+ I obferve that, on this chart, the latitude of Gafpar is
only 2° 20'; and that as Shoal-ivater miift have been fabjefted
to Gafpar by Wilfon^s feries of bearings and trigonometrical
operations, itmufthave been placed i minute lefs foutherly, than
if, as I have placed it, Gafpar is laid down in latitude 2° 21'.
ufe
540 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. I79I.'
ufe of this linear diredlion for fubjeding this ifland
to the fouth Point of Middlë Ifland, by preferv-
ing to it its latitude of 3° 1 8^ confirmed, as will be
feen, by the Plan which was con{l-ru6led by Ro-
bertson, at the time of the difcovery of the
Eafl Passage by Clements.
This Plan, fuch as he himfelf publifhed it in
1788, has no fcale of latitude, but the difference
of latitude between the middle of Caspar Ifland
and the fouth part of Shoal-water Wand or
Iflands, is there 57 miles, or 57 minutes j and if
Caspar is in latitude 2° Shoal-water mufl \
be, according to this Plan, in 3^ 1 8'.
It is true that Rôbertson, on his Chart of the
Straits of^hi^CKy Caspar and Clements, 1788,
and on his large Chart of the China Sea 179 1,
places Shoal-wat£R Ifland in 3° 27^ that is to
fay, 9 minutes more to the fouthward than Dor-
delin y but, on thefe very charts, he places
Caspar in 2° 30', in lieu of 2° 2i\ that is, 9 mi-
nutes more to the fouthward than the latitude
which, it appeared to me, ought to be adopted for
Caspar Ifland (farther back, page 46 9) j the
difference of latitude is therefore the fame on the
two charts. As all the Charts and Plans agree in
general, refpecling this diff^erence of 57 minutes*, '
it
* Rohert/on*s Plan, publifhed by Dalrympîey as far back as the
year 1786, in his CoUedion, gives this difference of latitude
fmaller
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. 541
It appears that it ought to be admitted -, and on
adding it to the 2° 21' of Caspar, we fhall have
for Shoal-water, f ib', as Dordelin made it
from his obfervation and his route.
Captain Cooper's Journal (page 19) comes to
the fupport of this determination. On the 6th of
Auguft, at noon, at the point of his firfl: dation,
his latitude obferved was f 21', and, at the fame
inftant, the remarkable hummock on the fouth
coaft of Banca bore north 26° weft — Middle
Ifland north 25" eaft — and a low ijland, eaft half
north : from the pofition of his fhip, and the
direction in which this ifland bore, it could be
no other than Shoal-water Ifland : but fince it
bore eaft half north, it is therefore le/s to the fouth-
ward than the ftiip -, its latitude is therefore under
3° 21V and confequently nearer to 3° 18', the lati-
tude afligned by Dordelin to the Ifland of La
Reconnoissance, than 3° 27', the latitude given
by Robert'son.
I take the opportunity of obferving that, if the
difference of latitude between Shoal- water and
Caspar is, in fa6l, ^57 minutes, as all the charts
have made it, and if the latitude of f 1 9' or 2o\
fmaller hy 2 minutes : but as this Plan is, no doubt, only a copy
of that of Rohertfon who drew it, to whatever confidence a Plan
publiftied by Mr. DalrympU may be entitled, ftill more nmft
be due to the original.
fuch
marchand's voyage. [Dec. 1791
fuch as it is deduced from Cooper's obferyation
and bearing in regard to Shoal-water Ifland, is
exaft, Caspar Ifland muft be in 2° 22' or 23%
which is far enough from 2° 30', adopted by
Robertson, and near enough to 2° 2 1 given
by the Solide's obfervation, taken on the very
parallel of Caspar.
Robertson's two Charts and Plan, which I
have quoted, agree in placing^ very nearly to the
fouthward of S hoal-water Ifland, two'fhoals,
under the name of Breakers -, and the fouthernmoft
extremity is there at the diftance of 11 miles from
the fouth extreme of thefe iflands. It is written
on the Plans that a fmall portion of the latter
is dry, that it appears white, and is very low. I
have thought it proper to preferve thefe flioals in
the pofition that is given to them on the Charts
and Plans which the Englifh have publifhed with-
in thefe four years, and which merit the confidence
of navigators.
Dordelin's chart indicates a third fhoal to the
weft 33-° fouth, and at 18 miles' diftance from thé
Iflands of la Reconnoissance (Shoal-water
Ifland). He anchored 11 or 12 miles to the fouth-
weft by weft of this fhoal, in io§ fathoms; and it
appears that he examined it well ; for on his chart
is written the following phrafe :
Sand-bank and rocks even with the water's
edge, feen by the ftiip Triton bound to China
in
Dec. 1791.] maRchand's voyagé. ^543
in 1784, near which were found 7 fathoms water.
It muft: be covered at high water. This bank is
laid down on the charts of D'Après" old Nep^
tune OrientaL But it is not laid down 00 thole of
the new edition."
As this fhoal, on Dordelin*s chart, is 7^ miles
iTiore to the fouthvvard, and upwards of i6 niiles to
the v/cdward than the fouth part of the Iflands of
La Reconnoissance (Shoal-water lOand), or
about 1 7 7niies to the w eft -Joiith -weft half iveft of
thefe iflands^ while the fouthernmoft part of the
Breakers w^hich are feen on Robertson's Charts,
is carried 1 1 miles direéliy to the JoutJnvard of
thefe fame iflands, of which Do rd el in had got
fight, and determined the latitude ^ it does not
appear that we ought to confound thefe fhoals,
and fuppofe that Dordelin's Shoal and the
Breakers marked on Robertson's charts, are
but one and the fiime fiioal : I have therefore pre»
ferved and laid down both on my chart 3 it will
there be feen that in placing them in the relpec-
tive pofition which has been given to them, the one
on the French Chart, the others on the Engliiîi
Charts, the track of Captain Clements, borrow-
ed from Robertson's Chart, pafTes in mid-chan-
îiel, between the two pofitions, at 6^ miles diftance
from both : and, at this diftance, Dordelin's
■Shoal^ that fan d- bank and rocks even wish the water's
edge, which muft he covered at high z^ater^ could not
be
MARCH AN d's VOYAGE. [Dec. 179I.
be perceived by Clements, as Robertson^s
Breakers of which a Jmall portion only becomes
dry and is very loWy could not be perceived by
DoRDELiN, fince having pafled to the weftward of
his fhoal, and thence fteered to the north-eaft,
he came no nearer than 9 miles to Shoal-water
lOand, and he muft have pafled at a greater dif-
tance from the Breakers which extend 1 1 miles to
the fouthward of thefe iflands. Cooper's track,
drawn according to his bearings and his chart,
pafTes not at more than the diftance of a mile to
the weftward of Dordelin's Shoal : but if, as we
muft believe from the report of this captain, his
Shoal is not dry at low water. Cooper may have
pafled very clofe to it without getting fight of it,
I here terminate the Analyfis, too long per-
haps, of the Charts which I have conftruâ:ed of
the two Straits comprifed in the great Strait Be-
tween Banca AND BiLLiTON ; in taking the li-
berty to make correftions in thofe which have,
within thefe few years, been publifhed by the
navigators who have frequented this Strait, it
was incumbent on me to enter minutely into the
motives of the alterations ; and I muft exped
from time and experience to learn whether my la-
bour has led me to refults, the corrednefs of
which is fufficient for the fafety of navigation.
I have thought that it might be ufeful to French
navigators, who do not poflTefs the Plans of the
4 Englifti,
Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE.
5i5
Englifh, and that it would be agreeable to them to
fee marked on the Charts of the Strait all the
tracks of the ihips which, till 179T, have fre-
quented the two Paffages : the traveller loves to
fee a beaten path : he is then certaia-pf not lofing
his way.
In Caspar's Strait or the West Passage will
be found * :
I ft. Dordeltn's track (the HTriton, the Pro-
vence, and the Sagittaire) going to China
in Auguft 1784.
N. B. I might alfo have delineated there his track
on his return, but it would be confounded with
others, without being of any ufe.
2nd. The track of the Sulivan (Captain
Stephen Williams) coming from China
in December 1784, taken from his Journal.
3rd. The track of the Carnatic (Captain Les-
TOCK Wilson) on her return from China in
February 1787, fubjeéled to the Bearings
mentioned in his Journal.
4th. The track of the Warren Hastings
(Captain John Pascal Larkins} coming
* I have thought it proper to difpenfe with marking the
track of Ga/j)ar who{t chart is to be found in D'Après' Neptune
Oriental^ which is in the hands of all our navigators, and of
which Mr. Dalrymple has given a çopy in his Collégien, This
track prefents nothing particular, and Gafpar's Chart on which
it is marked is fo defective, that it would not be ppflible to deli-
neate hia track on a more correct chart.
VOL. II. N N from
I46 MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [J^CC. I79Î,
from the northward in May 1788, fubjecled
to his Bearings and his log-book.
5th. Laftly, the track of the Solide (Captain
Etienne Marchand) on her return from
China, in December [791, drawn from the
Bearings mentioned in the Account of her
voyage, and the Chart which was conftruâreid ,
by Captain Chanal, conjointly with the En- ,
gineer Le Brun.
iV. B, I have not inferted in my Chart the track
of the Macclesfield Galley, coming from
China, in March 1702, which Robertson has
drawn on his large Plan : it prefents nothing par-
ticular, and would only crowd the PafTage. From
the parallel of the East Point of Banc a, and
a- miles from this Point, this Track runs fouth
and fouth by eaft, and flops at the parallel of the
South-east Point of the Peninfula of Sel at the
diftance of 2^ miles from that Point. The depth
of water is the fame as that which is feen on the
other tracks that pafs in mid-channel in the West
Passage, It might be prefumed that it has been
marked on Robertson's large Plan, only to fhew
a track made in this Paflage, by an Englifliman,
previoufly to the publication of Caspar's Chart
by D'Après*,
In
* Mr. Daïrympîe has given us in his Collection of Memoirs
( Appendix to Memoir of Chart of Sunda and Banca, page i to
JO.)
Dec. 1791. I MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. 547
In the East Passage or Clements' Strait
will be found :
ift. The
lo), an Extraél from the Journal of thé Macclesfield Galley^
which in coming from the northward, in March 1702, pafied
unintentionally through Ga/par's, Strait : no help can be derived
from it for drawing the Plan of the Strait : but it appears that
Ihe is the firft velTel known that chance has led to pafs it.
After having been long doubtful refpefting the land in fight of
which he found himfelf, the Captain difcovered that it muft be
tlie Ifland of Banca.
" Yetlerday (the i3th of March)*' it is faid in the Journal,
" fteering along the coaft of Banca, we found it altogether as
good as the Plaiet fheweth ; the foundings as per CoUumn ;
there is many fmall Iflands near the (hoar, from which we
" faw many Breakers, and from the Ihoar itfelf, but they ar®
all fo near and vifible that none have any occafion to come fo
near. Laft nigh-t in the evening at 6 we got under the north
Point of the iiaft end of Banca anchored in 1 8 fathom, in
the night it was calm j we found a fmall current along the
(hoar to leeward, the Ifland N. E. from this point or there-
" abouts dift. 7 leagues is very remarkable." (Mr. Dalrymple
judges that this muft be Gajpar Illand, becaufe in the original
manufcript, is drawn a Beaked Hummock ) " In the morning at
day-light weighed and fent our pinnace on head of the Ihip to
" found, and the yawle I fe,nt towards Banca into the Bay^,
being inclined to have borrowed on that iide, but going right
" in Ihe foon fhoaled the water to 10 -fathom.. I ordered them
" on or towards the great Ifland^" {This muft M'lddh ot
Pajfage Ifland) and refolved to keep the middle : fleered
through S. by E. | E. had not lefs than 13 fathom nor more
than ,18 till the eaft part of the Great Ifland bore E. by S.
and the South Point of Banka S. by W. then 24, 26 fathom ;
foon after flioaled down to 12, &c.'*
" I conclude that the South Part of Banka is on the latitude
of 3° 2' fouth.^' (This latitude can agree only to the fouth»
K N 2 eaft-
MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. [Dec. 1791.
I ft. The track of the Vansittart and the
Fleet commanded b]' Captain John Cle-
ments, coniiiig from China, in the begin-
^ ning of Jui.Y 178 i, delineated from the Plan
drawn and publifhed by George Robertson :
2nd. The track of the Atlas (Captain Allen
Cooper) going to China, having entered the
Strait from the fouthward, in Auguft 1785;
it is drawn from bis Journal :
3rd. The track of the Royal Admiral, taken
from Robertson's large Plan, where it ap-
pears without a date, and without any other
. indication.
Independently of thefe eight tracks which are
marked at full length on my chart, I have alfo in-
ferted there, from the Journals, thofe of the Hawk
(Captain Robert Rivington) and of the Pons-
eaft Point of the Peninfula, and not to the fouthernmoft Point
of Banca J,
" On the 1 5th, at 6 in the evening, the fouthermoft part of
" the Great IJIanr/s bore S. E. and the fouthmoft part of Banca
" in fight, N. W. by W. dift. 5 or 6 leagues ; the fhip drove
*^ to the eaftward with the current a fmall matter." We are at
a lofs to conceive how a fli^p that has the fouthernmoft part of
Banca mrth-njoeji by ^iveji 5 or 6 leagues diHant, can have the
Great IJland Jonth-eafi,
The Captain of the Macclesfield terminates this article of his
Journal by faying : I like the coming through this way much
better than through the Straits of Banca, it's more fecure
and much nearer."
4-
BORNE
f
! Dec. 1791.] MARCHANDAS VOYAGE. ^49
I BORNE ('Captain William Hammett) failing in
company, and coming from the northward in
January 1785. I have difcontinued thefe laft-
mentioned tracks above the parallel of Caspar
Ifland : to trace them beyond that, would create
confufion in the PafTage between Caspar and
Tree Ifland, by which thefe two fhips entered
the Strait. Thefe two tracks have appeared to
me ufeful to be preferved, becaufe they may indi-
cate the places that are clean amidft the fhoals
fituated from the north to weft-north-weft, in re-
gard to Caspar Ifland.
This fame reafon has determined me to mark
the track of the Mascarin (Captain Crozet) in
1 773, fuch as it is feen on the Chart N" 49, 2d^
of D'Aprè's Neptune Oriental^ 2nd edition, a copy
of which Mr. Dalrymple has given in his CgU
leflion of Plans. This track of Crozet crofles
the part of the fca fituated to the